A New Reality
by Alsodef
Summary: When a summoning goes wrong, 5 champions end up in a place they do not know. With all kinds of strange people around, they will have to find a way to "clear" the game. With many questions on their minds, Kha'Zix, Braum, Fiora, Talon and Quinn travel through the world of Aincrad, where they will see a lot of strange, dangerous things. Writing together with WingsOfRequiem.
1. Arrival

**Author Note at the Beginning of this story:**

'Ello e'rryone, it's me, Wings, with an awesome writer, Alsodef!  
We're doing this real cool story (Alsodef's idea) of a crossover of League with SAO. After much debating, alot of discussing and a WHOLE lot of lazy'ing around (mostly on my part xD), we've finally managed to settle on a plot and make the first chapter! I'll let Alsodef take it from here.

SO, Anime is addicting. A while back a friend told me to start watching SAO, and I curse him for all the tests and homework that were "left behind" to watch this one, as well as many others that followed in its path. Of course, I searched for good stories on FF, and I wasn`t disappointed. This triggered my inner writer to get to work again (also during a week of tests) to start with this chapter. Now, I`ve worked with Wings before (Radio Piltover, Ch.7) and contacted him on Skype with this idea. After some brainstorming, we made up a plan, and here we are… I hope you enjoy ^-^

Without Further ado, enjoy the story!  
~ Alsodef and Wings

* * *

**Summoning Room 13, Team Blue, 12:58AM**

"Okay, you know the plan guys. As soon as we summon you on the Rift, we plan to do an invade on the enemy`s Red. With Braum you guys have a good early level one, and we plan to make use of that. Fiora, Talon and Quinn, stay in the back, and try to get the autos in as soon as possible, Kha, Start with your claws, since they`ll allow you to do another attack. Understood?"  
The five champions in the room all nodded and took a seat in the rather comfortable lounge chairs that the room held, except for Kha'zix, who sort of crouched on top. The summoner left the room, and everyone waited for the sound of a gong-kinda instrument, which would mean that the match was about to start.

It started with the usual feeling, Quinn saw all the blue around her and her body was feeling light but tense, everything was going normally and as expected, up until the point where she felt as if her body was being torn apart. Suddenly there was a lot of… wind? She didn`t know for sure. It did, however, pull on her crossbow and her helmet. With one hand on her head, she tried to keep her helmet in place. The price for that, however, was her crossbow, which was ripped from her fingers, flying off into the light and disappearing from view.

"What is this?!" She shouted into the void around her. The wind was still all around her, and Quinn had no idea what was happening with her. Was it just happening to her, or were all the others facing the same problem? Suddenly, Quinn realized she didn't see, nor feel Valor. "Valor!?" She screamed, the first inklings of fear coming into her as she looked around, seeing nothing but blue. She was being buffeted by strong winds from every direction, yet the only thing in her mind was trying to find her best friend. The light around her changed its color, and images flashed past all around her, too fast for her to see. The wind around her increased in speed and sound, up until the point that it became deafening. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light, and the next moment Quinn was falling down from a low height.  
She uttered a small yelp as she thrashed about in the air, falling down onto the grassy field with a small, muted thump. Thankfully, she landed on her arms, allowing her to somersault on the sloped ground to take away the brunt of the fall. Around her, she heard other sounds of falling, along with a very large thud which shook the ground.  
Quinn tried to push herself back onto her feet, but she stumbled as the world swam around her. Before she knew it, she had doubled over, emptying the contents of her stomach into the grass. After she was finally done, she stumbled back, landing in a sitting-position as she tried to sit out the dizzyness and nausea, which seemed to be slowly decreasing. "Valor… Valor…" She whispered, looking around groggily to see if Valor was around. And then, she heard the high pitched screech that she knew only he could make.  
Looking up, she saw the blue shape of Valor diving down, spreading his large wings once he got near to slow his descent, yet still tackling into her as Quinn laughed, embracing him as he reached her. His tackle caused her to fall onto her back, but she didn't care as she held him close, laughing with relief. "Oh thank god… Valor…" She whispered as Valor coo'd reassuringly to her, nudging her with his beak affectionately.

Quinn heard the sounds of approaching footsteps as she sat back up, the nausea disappearing from her now, turning towards the sounds. She tensed as she saw Talon approaching. His hood was still pulled up, so she couldn't see his face. And he was armed with his blades. Quinn instinctively reached for her crossbow, yet she found that it wasn't there. Looking down and cursing under her breath, she looked back up at him.  
"Relax." Talon said, stopping a few feet from her. "We're still on the same team, right?"  
Quinn narrowed her eyes, unsure of his words.  
"Maybe this is the new map the summoner's were talking about?" Talon said, trying to ease the Ranger's tenseness as he looked around. They were on the side of a sloping, grassy hill, with no trees to be seen anywhere. In the distance, they could make out the outline of a town, while on the other side, they could see a forest.  
"I don't remember there being any mention of a town in the maps." Quinn said darkly as she stood back up, brushing her self off. Valor stayed perched on her shoulder. The sounds of approaching footsteps got both of their attention as they turned around to see Fiora and Braum walking up the hill towards them  
"Braum is very confused. Can any of you shed some light on 'dis matter for me?" Braum said in his usual voice, making even his confusion seem jolly. " 'e's not 'zee only one. I 'ave no bearin'z of 'zis new map and I cannot contact my summoner." Fiora said, frowning as she looked Quinn up and down. "Quinn, where'z your crossbow?"  
Quinn looked around at them, noting how all of them had weapons or, in Braum`s case, a door/shield. "What the hell? You all have your weapons but I don't have mine? I lost it in the summoning." She said, frowning as well.  
"Strange." Talon said darkly.  
"You humans truly are foolish, aren't you?" The hissing, otherworldly voice of Kha'zix came from behind Quinn as she turned around just in time to see Kha'zix uncloak. All of them took a step back in surprise. "What the hell!?" Quinn shouted. "Kha'zix, how do you have your ultimate?" She said.  
"I don't. I can go invisible whenever I wish to… I cannot explain it, but we are not in the Summoner's Rift." Kha'zix said, crouching down in his insectoid-way of sitting, yet still managing to be as tall as Quinn. "I recognized the feelings and the energy signatures… It was the same as when I tore through the Void to enter your world."  
"What are you saying?" Talon said, tilting his head slightly.  
"To put it simply for your primitive, unevolved brains to understand- " "How dare you!" Fiora uttered indignantly. Kha'zix ignored her and continued, "- we have crossed through dimensions."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds as they took this information in.  
"You mean, we are in another world?" Talon asked with a soft voice.  
"Another world, another time, another dimension. Yes, that`s exactly what I mean. And I cannot access the Void from here." Kha'zix answered  
Instantly, Fiora stepped in front of Quinn, drawing her blade and pushing her back from the others. "Quinn, step back." Fiora said testily as everyone else stared at her. "Fiora, what's wrong?" Quinn said. Kha'zix snickered. "It seems the woman has more intelligence than she shows. She has found the true meaning."  
"And what would that be?" Talon asked, slowly edging back from Fiora's drawn rapier.  
"We are no longer a part of our previous world… So we are no longer bound by it's rules." Kha'zix said as he grinned, baring all of his fangs. Talon instantly took up a defensive position as he edged back, forming an equal distanced- triangle from Fiora and Kha'zix. "Now now, everyone, calm down!" Braum said, trying to defuse the situation. "We are all in this together, yes? So we cannot kill each other! We have no idea of anything yet." He said.  
"Then, let`s get some intel, right? We should send Quinn and Braum to that village, while Kha'zix, Fiora and myself go into those forest to hunt for food. It doesn`t matter that we were enemies back home, since we`re in a different world now. And until we know how we can get out of here, we need to take proper care of ourselves." Talon said, but he froze as Fiora's blade came flying, stopping right under his chin.  
"You cannot fool me, Azzazin." Fiora said darkly as Talon was forced to raise his face, making his face just slightly visible, to show how he scowled at her.  
"I'm focusing on keeping us alive. What are you going to do if we find something like the Baron Nashor on this world, unbound by the rules that prevent it from attacking unless attacked? Even Kha'zix cannot kill it by himself." Talon said through his teeth as Fiora narrowed her eyes. Quinn grabbed Fiora's arm and pushed it down, pushing Fiora away from Talon. "Fiora, calm down. He has a point." Quinn said, glancing at Talon. "We don`t even know if we will respawn here. We cannot afford to argue with each other. Not now… So, I`ll go with Braum, and we search and ask for information?" Quinn asked tentatively.  
"Yes yes, sounds like a good plan, lass! Maybe we can ask them what these floating bars are!" Braum said, swatting at the bar above his head. Everyone looked up to find bars above their heads well, with their names written above.  
"Well… It seems the world we are in now isn't much different from the one we left." Talon said darkly, before he began stalking off towards the forest. Kha'zix said nothing, also turning around to head towards the forest. Fiora gave Quinn one last look with a silent message of 'be careful' before heading with Talon and Kha'zix to the forest, leaving Braum and Quinn on the hill.

"Welcome to Corfyre, The finest city you will find on Floor 10!" A smiling, small man said to Quinn and Braum when they passed through the city`s gates. The city itself breathed life and coziness, and there were people all around, either buying supplies or just chatting with everyone else.  
"Excuse me, where can I find an information desk?" Quinn asked a passing man.  
The man turned around and faced Quinn with a smile. "Welcome to Corfyre, I`m a fisherman at the nearby lakes, I`m here to sell my fish. Do you want to buy some?"  
Quinn gave him a strange look. "No, I just need information, do you know someone who might know about this place?"  
"Oh, you would have to talk to the Major of this town. He knows everything, he is really smart. Shall I mark his location on your map?"  
Quinn gave him another strange look. "My map? Ehm… I don`t have a map, I only arrived here a few moments ago."  
Suddenly a screen popped up in front of Quinn. It resembled the Hextech Cinematic Glasses she had seen in Piltover a few months ago.

_New Map Data Acquired. Show Location On Map?  
__Yes/No_

Quinn pushed the word "Yes" in front of her, and another menu popped up, showing a clear map of the area, along with certain pop-ups at the left side. In the right upper corner of her vision was a large square with a question mark in it. Touching the mark with her hand opened up yet another screen in front of her.  
The amount of information was a little bit too much to comprehend, and Quinn shook her head to get loose of some of the dizziness. She noticed that the screens stayed on their spots, and that everything around her continued the way it did before. Suddenly she felt a large and heavy hand on her shoulder. "Quinn, are ya okay?" Braum asked with his heavy, low voice.  
"Hmm, yeah. Have you discovered the menu already?" She asked him.  
"Yes, I have. It is odd, but pretty! I like pretty things." He said with a happy tone in his voice, as always, while looking through his own menus. And he was right, it looked pretty, and not just the menu, the entire world around her was beautiful.

Quinn turned her attention back to the screens, and looked at it as she would at a piece of Hextech technology from the Piltover Laboratoria. It was actually quite simple, using her voice she opened the separate menus which contained information about the world they were in at the moment. Apparently it was called "Aincrad", and it contained 100 floors that all had to be "cleared" to achieve victory. Everyone started on the first floor, but they were on the tenth. The world was part of a game that revolved around swords, and as such ranged weapons were not allowed in here. That also explained why the rest of her group still had all their weapons, while she only had her dagger. The game had started today, so everyone was probably still on the first floor. She closed the first topic, and a second one popped up automatically, it was called _Death and Respawning_.

_Aincrad Daily Post - Day 1_

_As you all know by now, Kayaba told us that Death in this world is fatal. There is no respawn system as in the beta, and thus, dying in this world would mean that you wouldn`t respawn, even worse. The NerveGear that we`d all bought will destroy our brains using microwaves, death in Aincrad will mean death in the real world as well. Please keep this menu and screen updated as much as possible. You can do this by claiming free copies of the [Guide] at every NPC bookshop in the [Town of Beginnings]. The guide contains information on all the important topics, and reading this information will save your life for sure. We are looking for people to help us updating the Combat-topic, as well as the Crafting one. Please let us know if you`re interested. For contact: [Add __**Agil**__]. _

"Braum, did you get that one as well?" Quinn asked, stunned after reading the message..  
"Yes, seems that we are not only ones in situation. However, what is NerveGear? And that Town they talked about?"  
"I do not know, Braum. Maybe we can ask one of those shopkeepers? The old man on the Rift was usually pretty smart, and he knew exactly what I wanted from him."  
"A good idea. Let us go." He said before lifting his huge shield from the ground and walking into a shop with a sign that read: 'Glandromagnae`s Bookstore'  
"Welcome, welcome! How can I help you, young lady?" An old woman asked Quinn.  
"Well, we need information about this place, we suddenly appeared over here, and we don`t even know where 'here' is. What can you tell us about this world?" She replied.  
"Ah, you`re adventurers than? Well everything you need at first is in the menu, at the help screen. But I can tell you a short synopsis of that, of course."  
"That would be lovely, so please do." Quinn said.  
"Good, take a seat, both of you. Would you two like something to drink?" The lady asked Quinn and Braum.  
"Yes please, but... We really don`t want to bother you too much." Quinn said with an apologizing tone.  
"You`re no bother, it`s not very busy here anyway. My name is Erika, and I own this small store on the tenth floor of Aincrad. So, let`s get you something to drink and get started, shall we?"

After taking their seats and getting a drink Erika asked the first question.  
"Okay, first of, what are your names, and what do you already know about this place?"  
"The name is Braum, and this lovely lady here is named Quinn. We are from a different place, and we dropped in this world." Braum said before Quinn could reply. "We know hardly anything of this, except the name and that we are on the tenth floor. Our friends are inside the woods, gathering food for us, and we went to this town to collect information about the place where we are now."  
The woman nodded. "Okay, did you two already buy a guide? If not I can give it to you?"  
This time Quinn answered her: "No, we haven`t bought one yet. How much gold would 5 of them be?"  
Erika gave Quinn a smile and moved her hand in front of her. A menu opened in front of Quinn`s vision. **[A Hitchhiker`s Guide Through Aincrad x5]  
**"It`s a free guide, as for gold, we have a different kind of currency in Aincrad. We pay for items and quests in col. If you open your inventory you can see how much col you own at the moment. If you haven`t bought anything yet, it should be around a thousand? Simply 1K col. Is that right?"

Quinn opened her menu, and selected her inventory for the first time. The information Erika had told them was correct, in the bottom of the screen stood the number 1000. Inside her inventory were several other things, she noticed. The 5 guides were all in there, as well as a small dagger. Sadly enough, there was no crossbow.  
"So, what can we buy with 1K? And how do we get more?" Quinn asked.  
"Well, you can do quests, for example. Or just kill monsters and collect their drops. That`s also the way to level up. One K isnt that much, so you have to earn more to buy the good things."

Leveling up, that was something that she knew from the Rift. Killing monsters would get you experience, and money as well. Clear enough.  
"Quinn?" Braum asked, upon seeing her thoughtful gaze. "What are you thinking 'bout?"  
"Well, at least there are some things that are like the Rift. And I wonder how the rest is doing right now. I mean, they are tough fighters and such, but I can`t help but worry a little bit."  
"Hmm, I wonder how Poros are doing. Mister Moustache will probably lead them well, but they need love. I hope that lady Lissandra will take good care of them." Braum said, his gaze pointed towards a non-specific point of the wall.  
"You… You asked the Ice Witch to take care of your Poros?" Quinn said, her voice a pitch higher in shock.  
"Yes, and Queen Ashe. They always take care of them whenever I`m away." Braum said it as if it were something completely normal.  
This shocked Quinn even more. "And Ashe? And they take care of them together? Aren`t they like sworn enemies?"

Braum laughed. "Have you ever seen Poro, lady Quinn? It`s not possible to argue or fight around Poro, especially when they are many, all around you. That`s why they take care of them together, they are best friends inside that room. They have little choice! Ha!"  
Quinn was shocked by this. "That`s… Wonderful. I`ve seen some Poros when I was at the Howling Abyss for a mission, but not from up close. However, I`m sure they are alright Braum. I don`t think that you need to worry about them." She placed a hand on his shoulder, and Braum nodded at her, a smile still covering his face. "You`re right. Let us continue? How do we do 'Trade-thing'?"

_**Ilyavis Forest**_

"This seriously is too easy, don`t you guys think?" Talon said to his two companions when another mob turned into blue bubbles. There was a new pop-up window at the place where the mob had died. [_Blue Scales x1, 23col, 150XP]  
_"Another one of those scales. And I think that this 'col' is money. Experience is nice as usual, but does that mean we level up as well?"

Kha'zix didn`t answer his question but jumped to another mob that had just appeared. With his claws he took down most of its Health in an instant, leaving only a shiver of red. The mob smashed his fist back to Kha'zix, but the attack was easily blocked.  
"This one looks… Interesting. Very well, time to adapt." He said before launching himself on top of the monster. With a swift bite he severed its head from the body, and crunched it between his teeth. Talon studied it with heavy interest, and noticed the small change in Kha'zix`s stats. He gained a small amount of extra health, and some mana as well. The rest of the body turned into bubbles again, and they received the normal items and money.

"You are right. They might look strong, but it`s all to easy over here. I need a challenging foe soon, or I might have to turn to our 'friends'." Kha'zix said, earning a grim look from Talon.  
"You`d better not do that, bug. We need each other at the moment."  
"That`s not true, I do not need you. I will adapt."  
His voice made Talon feel extremely uneasy, even more so because he knew that Kha'zix wasn`t really lying. Before he could reply however, the Demacian fencer appeared.  
"I haz received un message from Quinn et Braum. Zhey are on 'zee return."  
"Wonderful, even more people to look after." Talon said, throwing a glance at Fiora. She didn`t react to it though, but instead looked at the hill where they started.

It took about 10 minutes for Quinn and Braum to finally return to the hill, where they saw Kha'zix crouched and unmoving, eyes silently and eerily watching them, Talon simply lying on the grassy slope, his hood blocking the last rays of the sunset from his eyes while Fiora sat cross legged, inspecting the edge of her blade.

"Quinn, you hav' returned." Fiora said, looking up and meeting Quinn's golden eyes with her azure ones.  
"We brought information and camping gear for the night. I hope you guys got food." Quinn said as Braum began scrolling through his inventory. That drew the eyes of everyone else. "Braum, how did you open that menu?" Talon asked, sitting up.  
"Oh, it is easy! Just swipe down at the air like so, eh?" Braum said, demonstrating it. Talon and Fiora both did so, watching their inventory show up. Kha'zix sort of… slashed at the air with his claw, but it got the inventory up anyway. A second later, they all received a small pop-up box.

**[Braum would like to Trade, Yes / No]**

All of them pressed Yes and they received their guidebooks. "Just read that and you'll get everything you need to know." Quinn said, glancing at Kha'zix, who was currently in the process of chewing his book. "Kha'zix, no! Don't do that!" She said as Kha'zix ignored her, gobbling up the book, which turned into blue dots and was absorbed into him.  
"Do not try to understand me, human. I have inner workings that would turn your brain to mush if you try to fathom it." Kha'zix said, having absorbed all the knowledge the guide could give him by consuming it.

The next few minutes passed in relative silence. Quinn had set up to making the campfire while Braum and Talon were setting up the 5 tents all around it. Fiora was staring off into the distance, watching the horizon while Kha'zix was busy feasting on his **Raw Boar Meat**. The guide had discouraged players from eating any kind of meat raw, but it seemed to not apply to Kha'zix as his health wasn't decreasing from eating it raw. Within the next few minutes, everything had been set up and the five champions were all sitting around the campfire. They had all taken off their metal armor pieces, extra armor and weapons and placed them in the inventory, leaving them as comfortable as they could get without going down to their small clothes.

Quinn hugged her knees as she stared at the fire, watching her meat cook as she absently kept closing and opening her toes, enjoying the feel of the soft grass on her bare feet. "I wonder what's happening to our real bodies." Quinn said. Talon was sitting opposite to her, one knee propped up to support his elbow while the other leg was crossed under it. He had decided to keep his hood and cape on, although his armblade and vambraces were placed in his inventory, so he glanced up at Quinn through his hood. "Who knows. As far as we know, dying here would mean dying back at home… But we could be dead back there anyway." He said darkly.  
"How would you presume 'zat?" Fiora asked skeptically, sitting with both legs and arms crossed.  
"Well, think about it. According to this… Guide, this whole place is a game of sorts. All the players here, aside from us, got here through some kind of… device called a Nerve Gear. Well, we aren't using that last I checked. So are we really just like them, trapped in this world while our body rots back there? Or are we actually just dead due to that summoning accident and this is our new lives?" Talon's words were met with silence.

Thankfully, their food was done and they all began eating in silence. Valor flew down from the night sky, perching ontop of Quinn's tent as he coo'd gently to let Quinn know. Quinn smiled at him before going back to finishing her meat sullenly.  
"I wish I could just go back home." Quinn muttered quietly, everyone hearing her but no one saying anything.  
"So uh… What we do now?" Braum asked, scratching the back of his bald head. "We need guards, yes? Who guard when?"  
"I'll take 'zee firs' watch." Fiora said, standing up.  
"Fine. I'll take the second halfway through the night." Talon said. "What about me and Braum?" Quinn glanced at Kha'zix, who had been unmoving in his crouched stance, his green eyes glowing silently at them. "And Kha'zix?"  
"You two went to 'zee town for us. Get some res'." Fiora said before glancing at Kha'zix as well.  
"You're all thinking it… Would I be the one who's doing the watching? Or would I be the one to be watched?" Kha'zix said, snickering.  
"You can just stay as you are, Kha'zix." Talon said, no hint of fear in his voice. Yet, he glanced up. Kha'zix was the only one who was level 13, with both him and Fiora being level 12. Quinn and Braum were still level 10.

"Alright then… I guess… this is goodnight?" Quinn said uneasily, trying to break the tension between them all. It didn't work, as all of them stayed silent. Talon simply retreated back into his tent, while Kha'zix continued staring silently at her, the light from the fire reflecting dully off of his purple carapace. Fiora went back to staring out at the horizon, watching for anything that might be approaching. Braum placed a comforting hand on Quinn's shoulders, giving her a small, sad smile before going into his own tent. Quinn sighed and decided to go into her own tent for the night…

It was nearing sunrise when Talon, who was taking the watch now, heard rustling. He turned his head to look behind him to see Kha'zix having stood up.  
"Where are you going?" Talon asked as turned around, the moonlight glinting off of his armblade which was currently equipped on his hand.  
"I'm leaving." Kha'zix said as he began walking away.  
"Leaving?" Talon asked as Kha'zix stopped. He turned his face around to look at Talon with one green eye. "Yes. I have lived my life as a solo predator and I will continue doing so. I do not know whether killing one of you will… desynchronize this digital world, so I would rather not have my primal urges take over and kill you all. If you try to stop me, I can't guarantee you will survive." Kha'zix said as Talon silently stared back at the void reaver.

After a few tense moments, the Void beast began walking again and Talon watched him go. Farther. Farther. Farther until he was just a dark silhouette near the edge of the forest. And then, there was a small purple flash of light where Kha'zix was and he was gone. Talon simply continued to stare at the place where Kha'zix had disappeared as the sky began to lighten with the first signs of dawn behind him.

* * *

_Talon - Level 12 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1243 col.  
__Quinn - Level 10 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 747 col.  
__Braum - Level 10 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 479 col.  
__Fiora - Level 12 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1228 col.  
__Kha'zix - Level 13 - Ilyavis Forest - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1470 col._


	2. Adapt to Survive

**Chapter 2**

**Hillside, South of Corfyre**

"Hnnggg."  
"Caw."  
"Hmwrrr."  
"Caw"  
"Hmmm, morning Valor." Quinn said with a sleepy voice.  
"Caw, Caw."  
"Where… am I? Why are we camping?" Quinn said, her brain not yet catching up to her surroundings and the events of the previous day.  
"Braum! Wake up! We need a campfire for our breakfast, and you have all the firewood in your inventory!" Someone shouted. Quinn recognised that voice, but to who did it belong?  
"Azzazin, tu cou'd be less loud in zhe early morning. Zhat would be appreciated."  
'_Fiora?' _Quinn thought, while her brain was now finally catching up. She was in that strange new world, Aincrad? Yes, that was it. Yesterday, the summoning had caused them to warp to this place, or this dimension, as Kha'zix had called it. Currently they were on the tenth floor, and today would be a day spent on scouting.

Fixing her hair to make herself at least a little bit presentable, Quinn poked her head out of her tent, using a hand to block out the sunlight until her eyes adjusted to the brightness. "Uh.. What time is it?" She asked.  
"About time to get up." Talon said curtly, trying to light the fire on the firewood. It took him several tries, each time a small **[Failed] **sign floating up from his attempts until finally he managed to light the campfire. Braum watched with curiosity, his blue eyes twinkling as he clapped happily at the fire being started up. "Ah, bravo Talon! Now we can cook our food!" he said in a jolly tone as Talon grimaced, uncomfortable with his optimism. Fiora was also just waking up, looking worse for wear.  
"I'd give any'zing to get to sleep in an ac'sual bed." Fiora muttered grumpily as Quinn recalled Fiora having lived a life of luxury in a mansion.  
"Well too bad, Princess. This is all we're getting for now." Talon muttered as Fiora threw a dark look at him, which he ignored, setting down his meat near the fire to allow it to cook.

After maybe a few minutes, when everyone was done eating their breakfast, Braum perked up, blinked a couple of times and looked around. "Where is the Purple one? Braum no see him today at all." He said, scratching the back of his head as Fiora and Quinn began looking around as well. Fiora got to her feet quickly, opening her inventory as she quickly began equiping her armor and sword. "Oh, I knew it! Kha'zeex 'as already backstabbed us, 'zee craven beast that he is!"  
"Calm your tits, woman." Talon said as Fiora sputtered in outrage at his language. "Kha'zix decided to leave in the middle of the night for our own safety."

A few seconds of silence followed as confused looks were shared. "What d'you mean?" Quinn asked, frowning. "He's a void beast unlike us and we all know him to be a bloodthirsty creature hellbent on evolving and adapting to the top of the food chain. Apparently, Kha'zix knows that too and he'd rather not be around us lest he kill us out of boredom." Talon said in a flat tone as Braum chuckled.  
"Smart beastie, he is! If he try to eat Braum, Braum would make him go splat like a bug! But he is a nice bug, Braum would like to hug him next time he sees him." Braum said as he used a thumb to brush at his nose. "Yeah, I don't think hugging the lethal Void Beast is a good idea, Braum." Quinn said with a small smile as Fiora snorted impatiently.  
"So what now?" She asked.  
"Well… I guess we stick to our old plan, which is to scout out this place." Quinn said.  
"Not so fast, Quinn." Fiora said as she held up her sword and used it to point towards the forest. "When we went 'zere, 'zere were a lot of monsters inside. When 'zey hit us, we don't bleed or get injuriez, but our health goes down." Fiora said.  
"Yeah, I know that. It's similar like back at the Rift." Quinn said.  
"So we need to fight 'zem to survive." Fiora said.  
"Yeah, I know that too." Quinn said again.  
"Well, Birdbrain, do you have any weapons on you to fight with?" Talon said, annoyed with Fiora's beating-about-the-bush.  
Quinn's eyes widened in realization and then fell as her shoulders slumped a bit, her eyes falling down. "No… But I have a dagger in my inventory. I should be able to get by with that." She said.  
"Do you know how to use it?' Talon asked.  
"Ofcourse I do!" Quinn said indignantly, scowling at Talon.  
"Prove it then." Talon said, holding his arms out. "Equip your little dagger and try to hit me."  
"Hold z'it right 'zere, Azazzin. If you 'zin-" Fiora was saying but Talon stopped her by speaking up, "I'm sending her a Spar Request, Fiora. Meaning neither of us will die." He was, indeed, doing so as he brought up the menu and looked through it, clicking some things.  
Quinn had already equipped her dagger by the time the request showed up.  
**[Talon has sent you a Spar request. Do you accept? Yes / No ]**

Quinn hesitated for a moment before she pressed Yes.  
"First person to get the other's health below 50% wins." Talon said raising his arm blade as he casually stood. "Come at me, Little Bird." Talon said with a small sneer as Quinn narrowed her eyes.  
She held her dagger unsurely, the weight and feel of it unfamiliar. She had only ever used her dagger for other things, such as cutting things or skinning animals. She had never really used it as a main weapon in combat. She didn't even know how to hold it properly. However, as she glanced up at Talon again, she could see the small sneer on his visible mouth and it made her flush with embarrassment and anger.

She cried out with effort as she ran forward, holding the dagger with both hands near her mid-riff, pulling it back to stab it forward as she ran towards Talon. Talon simply turned around, side-stepping her with a simple rotation as he left one foot in it's original place. That foot hit Quinn's feet as she ran past, tripping her and causing her to fly forward and fall on her face. Thankfully, her hands had risen above her head, so she hadn't stabbed herself with her own dagger.  
"What do you call that move, Quinn? The Bird-Flop? Or maybe the Face Plant?" Talon said harshly as Fiora narrowed her eyes, her fists clenching with anger at the assassin. Braum put a reassuring hand on Fiora's shoulder and Fiora relaxed just a bit, still glaring daggers at Talon.  
Quinn pushed herself off the grass, her face red with humiliation as she blew some grass which was sticking to her lips. She stood up again and turned around, holding her dagger in one hand as she cautiously neared Talon this time, not giving into any rash impulses anymore.

After nearing him, she began thrusting and slashing with the dagger at him, doing it as quick and hard as she could. But Talon was lazily dodging them, flicking them aside a couple of times with his armblade or catching it with his armored gauntlet on the other hand. Suddenly he twisted away from her stab, spinning around so he was behind her. One hand grabbed her wrist, the other grabbed her chin. Within a second, he had forced her own hand back, her dagger digging into her throat as she forced her to stare upwards at the sky. He was purposely grazing the dagger on her neck, causing slivers of health to slowly cut away from her health.  
"Do you concede?" Talon asked.  
Quinn growled angrily, trying to fight her way out, but movement was only causing the dagger to dig into her neck more, dealing more damage. A few seconds later, her health hit the 50% mark and Talon let her go, shoving her forward so she fell down on her knees. A message floated in front of her face: **[You have lost the spar. 26 XP gained.]  
**

Talon looked down at her, his face hidden behind his hood. "There are many flows to your technique. Even when I would just have been a mediocre assassin, I wouldn`t have had any trouble to deal with you." Fiora walked closer to Talon, but was surprised when Braum stopped her. "What ar' you zoing, Braum?"  
"Braum thinks the young lady needs to hear this, eh. This is dangerous place, she needs to be stronger. That man can help her."  
"I haz no trust in a Noxian azzazin. He will hurt her." Fiora said, trying to get past Braum.  
"We are in this together, Fiora. If we no trust each other, who shall we trust?" Braum said, his mustache quivering slightly from side as Fiora looked at him with narrowed eyes. She finally sighed, conceding as she turned her gaze back to Talon and Quinn.

Quinn had gotten up as Talon looked at her. She didn't say anything, only stared down in shame as she clutched her dagger harshly. Talon stared flatly at her, blinking once before he sighed and walked over to her. He walked around to her front, causing her to look up at him. He grabbed her hand, the one with the dagger.  
"Hold it like this." He said, putting her hand into the correct position as well as fixing her fingers. "Not too tightly… The tenser your muscles are, the slower they are to release." He muttered.  
"Release?" Quinn whispered, still ashamed.  
"Yeah… Like so." He said, pressing parts of her forearm and hand to slowly ease her muscles. "And now… thrust like so." He stepped to her side and pushed up on her elbow while pulling her wrist forward, holding her hand steady as he showed her how to stab forward effectively with the dagger. "Think of your hand like a snake. Strike out lightning fast and reverse the movement to draw your hand back in just as fast." He said as Quinn flushed, embarrassed now at his close proximity and contact.  
"You're still a bit stiff. Here…" Talon muttered as he helped Quinn go through a few more maneuvers.  
"See?" Braum said to Fiora, whose lips thinned slightly but said nothing otherwise. "I guess you have a point, Braum." Fiora muttered, watching Talon help Quinn practice with the dagger.

_**Meanwhile, Ilyavis Forest**_

The lizardman cried out in pain as it was cut in half, disintegrating into numerous tiny blue spheres. Kha'zix inspected his claws, uttering a low growl of displeasure. Nothing he attacked bled or left any blood on his claws, taking half of the fun out of hunting. He had changed in the time he had spent in the forest. His claws had grown larger and more deadly and his carapace had a curious design of scales on it, like he was a reptile rather than an insect. He also had a long, prehensile tale and the talons on his feet were serrated.

Flicking his tail with displeasure at the meager XP gain, he looked around. "This forest holds no more challenge for me." He muttered to himself, a forked tongue darting out of his mouth for a split second before going back in. "Everything here is weak now."\  
Just then, he heard a rustle, causing him to turn around. A man walked out, looking at Kha'zix. The man had a smile on his face. "Hello there, player! Would you like to purchase some meat? I've been hunting in these parts for some time!" And then the man suddenly frowned at Kha'zix. "Player, are you having technical problems?"  
Kha'zix stared at the man with his glowing green eyes, his lipless mouth baring all his fangs in their usual, creepy grin. "An NPC?" Kha'zix muttered. The man's frown disappeared as soon as he was asked the question. "Yes, I am a vendor NPC of basic hunting goods." As soon as his answer was over, however, the man went back to frowning at Kha'zix, as if not understanding him. "Are you having technical difficulties, player?" He asked again.  
Kha'zix turned around, slowly walking towards the NPC. The NPC glanced at Kha'zix's claws, unable to identify whether they were weapons or not. "Are you having te-" The man was not able to finish his sentence before Kha'zix had pounced, digging his claws into the man as he landed ontop of him. Quick as a snake, Kha'zix's head darted down, beginning to devour the man, who didn't even scream. Within seconds the man had disappeared into blue particles, most of which was absorbed by Kha'zix.

Kha'zix was about to walk away before he noticed a small weapon which had dropped from the NPC. **Hunting Dagger**, it read when Kha'zix looked at it. Approaching it, a small message box appeared infront of him.  
**[Equip the Hunting Dagger? Yes / No]  
**Curious, Kha'zix pressed Yes with one of his claws. The dagger suddenly exploded into red particles, which then flew into Kha'zix, much to his surprise as he stepped back out of reflex. Tilting his head as he stared down at where the dagger had been, he tried to decipher what had just happened. Opening his status menu showed him, as he saw that he had gained some more stats to his attack.  
"So… I can absorb weapons too." Kha'zix muttered, snickering as he dug his claws into the ground, digging them in atleast halfway in. He then began screeching as if he was in immense pain, his carapace cracking and squishy noises coming out from him. Bone-breaking cracks were also heard as he was engulfed in white light, his form changing. A few seconds later, he slowly eased his fingers from their white-knuckled grip on the grass. Panting with exertion, he stood up uneasily on his new single jointed mammalian legs. Curiously, he was clothed in black pants, a white top and a leather purple jacket. He moved his jaw around, testing the new hinge joint before grinning as he inspected his new body.

…

"HIYA!" Quinn shouted as she stabbed a Boarman in the chest with her dagger. The Boarman reeled back, about to launch a counterattack, but just then a blue streak shot down from above. Valor tackled the Boarman in the face, stumbling the beast and allowing Quinn to run forward at it.  
"_Strike as fast as a snake." _His words echoed in her head as she focused, a cry of effort escaping her. Her dagger suddenly glowed blue as she thrust forward with blinding speed. A split second later, her hand had already come back into it's previous, poised position as a blue stab wound glowed on the Boarman's stomach. The beast groaned before it disintegrated into blue particles. A small window appeared infront of Quinn.  
**[Boar Hide x1, 24 Col, 172 XP. Congratulations, you have levelled up to level 12!]  
**Quinn jumped with joy as Valor flew down. She jumped up to embrace Valor in mid air as she laughed. "I did it Val, I got to level 12!" She shouted. They had been spending the last few hours in the forest, killing any monster they could find in hopes of levelling up and getting stronger.  
"Yes, but it was a bit sloppy." Talon said as Quinn started a bit, turning around to see him jump down from a tree. Talon was at Level 13 now, and halfway to the next level. He glanced up at Quinn's hp bar, which was down to 45%.  
"Give me a break, Talon, I just learned how to use a dagger…" Quinn said with a small huff as she crossed her arms, Valor perched on her shoulder as he stared at Talon.  
"A break is what you need, lass. We have leveled up two levels today, the rest can be done after lunch, eh?" Braum said as he walked out of the foliage to their left. Similar to Quinn, Braum was also level 12 now.

"Tch, I'm barely away from hittin' thirteen, I`ll stay un little bit more." Fiora spoke as she walked towards them from the other side while throwing a glance at Talon's level with a hint of bitterness. Talon allowed himself a smirk at Fiora's level 12. While doing that, Talon suddenly realised that they were all already talking in the language of this "game". It was good to see that they were growing accustomed to this place. He knew that the faster they would understand this place, the more likely it was that they would survive.  
"Talon, when do you think those "players" come?" Braum asked while putting emphasis on players and ignoring Fiora for the moment. They had yet to figure out if they were treated as non-playable characters or as these so-called "adventurers". The only way to find out, it seems, was asking one of the adventurers.  
"However," Braum continued, this time looking at Fiora who had already unsheated her rapier again. "Braum does not think you should stay here on your own, éh fencer? It`s dangerous for us all when we`re not together. Except for our purple Voidy friend."

**Thousand Snake Castle **

"Yes, you would make a great addition to me." Kha'zix hissed before jumping on top of a snake-like humanoid mob. His poisoning attacks had drawn the attention of the Voidreaver to him, with a determination to consume the mob and get those poisoning attacks for himself. The fight started with a claw from Kha'zix, hitting the head of his enemy. The monster, which was named [Fourth Sentinel of the Snake King] hissed and jumped back to avoid a second claw. Using the HUD, Kha'zix looked at the healthbar of his enemy. It had hardly taken any damage, the scales that covered its entire body had taken most of the blow, negating most of the damage.  
'I wonder,' Kha'zix thought by himself, 'if I can consume a Last Whisper in this world. That would make these, ugh, bastards much easier to deal with. On the other hand, maybe I`m just doing this wrong. And why are all their names different? And who is this "Snake King"?'

Kha'zix dodged another poisoned strike and prepared to jump up and strike the creature from above. Suddenly, his clawes glowed in a bright green color. His next strike was frightening, even for him. His claws moved in a motion that even his eyes could only barely follow it. The snake`s body was now covered in red, polygons floating out of the holes. Only a red shiver of his health remained. "I will adapt!" Kha'zix shouted before leaping at the creature`s shoulders and biting of its head. Kha'zix saw all the information of the [Fourth Sentinel of the Snake King] in his mind. A quick glance at his own menu made him grin with some kind of joy.  
**[New Passive Skill unlocked: Poisoning Strike] [Show Skill at Skill Menu?: Yes/No]  
**

After pressing yes, another pop-up appeared: **[First time visiting Sword Skills. Show tutorial? Yes/No]  
**Kha'zix pressed the "Yes" that was floating in front of his vision again and watched his HUD for an instruction on Sword Skills. Apparently they were moves that enhanced your attacks during a fight. To activate them, all a player had to do was holding his swordhand, or in his case: claws, in the right position. The system would do the rest for them and trigger the skill. Leveling up would give a player newer and stronger skills. And in his case, consuming would do the same.  
He closed the menu and looked at the items that the snake had dropped.

**[Snake Venom x3, 146 col, 328 Exp. Congratulations, you leveled up to level 16!]  
**Kha'zix frowned as he thought about the item he received. Flicking his claw, he opened the menu and perused it until he went into the inventory. There, he selected the Snake Venom.  
**[Give your weapons a sneaky edge! Applies a coat of poison that melts other player's defences.]  
**Kha'zix stared at it. Normally, back in Valoran, he would eat toxic leaves and fungi to gain a natural immunity to them… Would it also be possible here?  
He clicked it with his claw, causing one of the vials of Snake Venom to appear, landing on the ground upright. He leaned down and bit the cork off, spitting it away before he bit down on the flask's neck and turned it upside down, drinking the poison bottoms up. He spit the bottle out as well as he felt the warm feeling of the liquid inside of him. And then, the liquid feeling vanished. For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then-

**[New Passive Skill unlocked: Venomous Blood] [Show Skill at Skill Menu?: Yes/No]  
**Kha'zix pressed yes and then went back to his HUD menu to go and find the skill on his skill menu. Where he found the two new skills he had attained.  
**[Venomous Blood: When struck with a weapon, venom spews out and coats the attacking weapon or attacker. If the weapon's level is less than yours, the weapon is disintegrated and you gain 50% of it's stat bonuses. If it hits a player, it shreds their DEFENCE stat and ARMOR stat by an amount related to the level difference, upto a maximum of 70%]  
**Kha'zix simply stared with surprise at this new found passive of his. He then began cackling loudly, his laughter echoing through the large empty hall. "This should be fun…" Kha'zix said with a grin as he continued onwards through the halls. He came upon a large door, seeming alot more ornate than the rest of the doors in the place. The doors opened before him, leading into a dark room inside. Without hesitation, Kha'zix walked in, his wings shaking in excitement.

* * *

_Talon - Level 13 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1679 col.  
Quinn - Level 12 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1047 col.  
__Braum - Level 12 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 879 col.  
__Kha'zix - Level 16 - Thousand Snake Forest - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 2773 col.  
__Fiora - Level 12 - Plains outside Corfyre - Floor 10 - No Current Quests - 1228 col._

* * *

**A small Author Note: I just want to say how amazing it is to see all the positive feedback we receive, and to be able to open my mail to see another notification from Fanfiction, telling me that this story is appreciated. I hope that you`ve enjoyed chapter 2, please tell us what you think of it thus far, and do not forget to give Wings some love as well. (you will always find him at my tab).  
~Alsodef**


	3. Teambuilding

**Chapter 3: Teambuilding**

It was the dawn of their third day in this world called Aincrad, and the four adventurers -as all the NPC's were calling them- had just opened their inventory to get out the food they would need to replenish their health, when there was a barely-audible snap coming from their left.  
"Who's there?!" Talon shouted into the forest, getting the attention from the rest of his group, who instantly drew out their weapons. (Or lifted his door, in Braum`s case)  
"So, you did notice me. Guess you're the assassin after all. Or maybe it's just because of me not being able to camouflage due to my wounds." The buglike creature spoke.  
"Why the hell have you returned, Kha'zix? I thought you hadn`t planned on doing so?" Talon said, while the second part of what Kha`zix had said docked inside his brain. "Wait, wounds? What happened to you?"  
Kha'zix grinned. "I bit off a little more than I could chew…" He said, his face grinning in pain.  
"Where did you go to get these wounds?" Quinn asked, walking closer to the voidling.  
"Quinn, ztand back. We cannot zhrust zhat creature." Fiora said, stepping forward to pull Quinn back. She earned a harsh grin from the ranger, but Quinn didn`t protest. After all, Kha'zix truly was dangerous.  
There was an awkward silence between both sides for several seconds, everyone just standing in position, not knowing if they could trust the Void Reaper just because he was wounded.  
"Braum, see to his wounds. Use one of those health regenerating herbs that our beloved scout found in the forest earlier today. You have them in your inventory, right?" Talon said, keeping a close look at Kha'zix. He didn`t trust him, but he still was a companion, and strong. And he seemed to have some kind of information. And last of all, he needed help. There was no way that Kha'zix would have returned otherwise, not after leaving them two nights back.  
"Leave it to me. Purple, let me tend yer wounds, éh?" Braum said, while standing next to Kha'zix.  
The Void Reaper didn`t respond, so Braum took several herbs out of his inventory and handed them to Kha'zix. They were called **Long Finger Leaf, **and they looked as such.  
Not knowing what else to do with them, Kha'zix ate the leaves, and saw his health going back up to an acceptable level. However, there was another thing that caught his attention while looking at his health. In the upper right corner of his HUD there was an unopened notification.

**{New Quest Available: Defeat the Basilisk. Difficulty: Boss. Rewards: 12000 Exp. 20000 col. Item Drop: Rare}  
**

"Interesting. Really promising…" Kha'zix muttered, causing Fiora to throw him another suspicious look.  
"What haz' happened, bug?"  
"I just noticed that I had a quest-notification. It`s about defeating the Basilisk, or something." He replied, knowingly mistaking the meaning of Fiora`s question.  
The fencer let out an irritated sigh. "Zhat is not what I mean, Reaper. How did you get your wounds?" Fiora pressed.  
"Fighting this same Basilisk, or so I think. I was in that "Thousand Snake Castle", fighting my way through some of the snakes. I found a large room, and in this room there was this Basilisk, or King of the Snakes, as he was called. Once you are ready, I`ll show you the castle."  
Talon raised his hand. "Wait a moment, 'Once we are ready?' This Snake King has apparently bested you in combat. If he managed to beat you, how strong would he have been? You can probably take us four on your own…" He waited a second, looking at Kha'zix, who just nodded.  
Quinn stepped forward and filled the silence: "Kha, what level are you?"  
The voidling shrugged. "Sixteen, almost seventeen. Why?"  
"Sixteen, éh? Looks like you are the highest around here. The human purple and the fair lady are only thirteen. And Birdy and me are twelve. How did ya get so strong?" Braum asked, rubbing his nose with the back of one finger, which also caused his mustache to quiver.  
"I simply consumed and adapted." Kha'zix said, snickering.  
"So you're a huge amount above us yet you lost to that Basilisk thing… How do you expect us to win?" Quinn asked as Valor flew down from above, landing on Quinn's arm which she extended unconsciously for him.  
"The Little Bird here is still quite inexperienced with her weapon, so we need to take that into account as well." Talon said, earning a scowl from Quinn at her nickname, yet not denying the fact.  
"Not much of a problem. I had almost managed to beat the Basilisk as well, but it managed to almost kill me first… It is similar to our Baron Nashor, where we need the whole group to kill it." Kha'zix said.

"Wait, why do you have scales?" Fiora said, noticing the texture of his purple skin as she narrowed her eyes. Kha'zix's scales bristled at that, making a rippling motion from his face down to his legs and that tail, which whipped into view now, as he said, "There were alot of lizardmen and snakes I had to fight. I simply adapted, yet no amount of poison resistance was saving me from that beast's venom." Kha'zix said, hissing as his forked tongue shot out for a split second in distaste.  
"Ah, I see da problem! You simply need Braum's big strong shield to help!" Braum said, hitting the ground with his huge shield, making a deep 'thud' sound to emphasize his point.  
"Well, Braum does have a point… He can be our tank." Talon said, looking at Braum's health points, which was much, much greater than any of theirs, even though he was a lower level.  
"I still don' trust diz bug." Fiora said haughtily as she sneered at Kha'zix. " 'e iz too clever an' deadly for hiz' own good. And ours."  
"Even the strongest predators know when they need their pack." Kha'zix said as he hissed like a snake again, staring flatly at Fiora. "And if you remember what that… Agil person said in the message, we need to kill that Basilisk creature to be able to progress to the next floor." Kha'zix said.  
"Well, we're not going to be doing anything of that sort today." Talon said as he look around. It was still mid afternoon, but they were quite tired and hungry already.

"We have a fair amount of gold… Or col, whatever this currency is… I say we go to the town." Talon said as Fiora instantly agreed. "Oh yez, we really need a good bed to rest… I'm not sure if I can deal with sleepin' on 'zee ground again." She said. "We can fight 'zis beast tomorrow."  
"No. We fight it tonight, after your feeble bodies have had sufficient time to rest." Kha'zix hissed, before looking at all of them in turn.

Kha'zix stepped back and unleashed a snarl as he was encased in glowing purple light. His sudden burst of light caused everyone to step back, Fiora and Talon raising their weapons in caution as Kha'zix glowed in a sphere of purple energy, crackling with power. And then, the energy dissipated, revealing a human. He stood up, straightening up as he brushed himself off in distaste. He had purple hair and was wearing a jacket and pant of the same color. The jacket had a fur-trimmed collar, the fur colored orange. A red inner shirt was within the jacket.

"What…" Talon muttered as everyone else gaped at him. Kha'zix snorted, his eyes green and the pupils naught but slits, still containing the predatory aspect. When he spoke, his teeth were revealed to be sharper pointed than normal teeth. "You can't just expect me to waltz into a town full of people in my full form. This will make things much easier." Kha'zix said, grinning at everyone. He had not mastered facial expressions that much yet, so his grin was unsettling and creepy.  
"Jus' keep your distanze, Bug." Fiora said haughtily. "_Un prédateur a de nombreuses formes." _ She added, before stalking off towards the town.  
"Yeah. Whatever she said." Talon muttered, pulling at his hood to fit it more snugly before following. And thus, the group began walking towards the town…

…

The town was not as bustling as they had expected it to be, but not quiet either. Everywhere, NPCs who inhabited the town walked about, minding their own business and living their own lives. Some of the people greeted them with lines of "Good Afternoon, adventurers!" and "Welcome to Corfyre!"  
Quinn and Braum were leading, showing everyone else what they knew about the towns.  
"And this is the Inn." She said, pointing at an establishment with the sign "Sleeping Sound Inn" hanging next to it's door. A guard stood right outside, muttering something about taking a sword to the knee.

"Okay! Let us put some meat in our stomachs so we can all grow big and strong like Braum!" Braum said happily when he opened the door and walked in. It was quite empty inside, except for a barkeeper and a waitress, who wore a bunny outfit. "Welcome, players!" They both said with enthusiasm as the rag-tag bunch of champions walked in. There was literally no one in the seats, so they just picked a random table and sat down on it. Braum took one end because of his large size and Kha'zix took the other, while Talon sat on one side and the two demacian ladies sat across him.

The waitress walked upto them with a small notebook and asked, "Greetings adventurers! Would you like something to eat or drink?"  
As soon as she said that, a small menu showed up in front of everyone on the table, forming from the same blue particles that everything seemed to be made of. Perusing the menus, all of them made their orders, mostly just by tapping on the name of the food they wanted, and then the menus vanished and the waitress left.  
About a second later, the food and drinks they had ordered appeared in front of them on the table, being made of the blue particles again. Only Kha'zix had not ordered any food or drink.

"So, Kha'zix. Tell us about this boss you faced. Anything you know will help us prepare." Quinn said as she cut a small slice of meat off of her plate, catching it on a fork and raising it up so Valor, who was perched on her shoulder, could bite into it happily. Kha'zix hummed before he began to recall how it had gone...

_Without hesitation, Kha'zix walked in, his wings shaking in excitement. The room was pretty dark, but his predator senses had enhanced his vision long ago. Thus, Kha'zix had no problem of seeing the monster that was in the middle of the room. There was another Sentinel, and it looked weak in comparison to the Reaper. The voidling jumped in the air, and landed behind the lizardsnake. His claws changed into a blur of purple light, and the healthbar of the [Seventh Sentinel of the Snake King] disappeared. Disappointed that it had all gone so easy, Kha'zix scanned the rewards he had received. There was nothing else but scales, some venom and the usual experience and "col". Glancing at his HUD however, Kha'zix failed to notice the ring of fire that was closing in on him. The hissing of the blazing fire made him realise that he was trapped. And another hissing sound caused the Reaper to shudder a bit. Any other being would shudder in fear, but not Kha'zix. His shudder was one of excitement. On the other side of the fire was a moving entity, its scales reflecting the light of the flames. The square room was fully lit, and the only gap in the ring of fire was on the other side of the large doors.  
__Through this gap, the [Basilisk, King of all Snakes] entered the battle area, and after letting out another hiss, the battle between the two monsters started._

_The Basilisk made use of its fangs while attacking, and launched attack after attack on Kha'zix, forcing the Void Reaper to fight in a really defensive style. So, after a few minutes Kha'zix had lost a quarter of his health, while his opponent had only lost a mere shiver of his. He knew that if he would continue this way, the Reaper of the Void would lose, a verb unknown to him. So, there was no other option left for Kha'zix but to go all-in. The bug jumped to the left when the snake attacked him again, and slashed to it`s right eye. A loud scream notified Kha'zix that his claw had struck it`s goal. Now there was another shiver of the snake`s health that had disappeared. Kha'zix didn`t return to his old pose, though. He jumped on top of the Basilisk`s head and started hitting the tough scales that were on it. He had taken some wounds from the Basilisk's earlier attacks, and his passive came into play as poison dripped from him and began shredding way at the Basilisk's defences, so each successive attack did more than the last. Still, most of his blows were deflected, but he was able to get some of the damage through, and more important; the snake wasn`t able to hit him on top of his own head. _

_The Basilisk`s health was now down to around sixty percent of its original HP, and Kha'zix had successfully managed to land a few more blows to both his eyes and head. The monster`s Health bar flashed for a brief second, indicating that another 10% of its life had been depleted.  
__The Basilisk let out a sinister hiss, Kha'zix backed off a little, eying the changes that happened to the monster. This, however, was a big mistake. A yellow light bursted from the snake`s eyes, and suddenly Kha'zix felt himself unable to make any move. The Basilisk launched itself to the petrified Voidling, and buried many fangs inside Kha'zix`s back, dropping his health to a dangerous, red-glowing, level.  
__As soon as the petrifying debuff ended, Kha'zix jumped back and did the only thing sensible in his situation. He ran. Using his wings to jump over the wall of fire, he had the doorway in front of him. The snake hissed loudly, and charged after him until Kha'zix had moved through the doors. The Basilisk regained all its health, but this didn`t really bother Kha'zix anymore. All that the voidling had on his mind right now, was to get away and find shelter._

"And that's what happened. I barely managed to get out alive, and now I'm here." The purple haired Void-human concluded its story and eyed the humans around the table.  
"Sounds lovely…" Talon said, grinning.  
"Yes indeed! Now, don`t fear, little ones. Braum`s here!"  
Quinn smiled at the Freljord`s toughest warrior, and her fear did indeed disappear.  
"Vwe will need un strategy formidable to succeed. And Quinn iz not ready for zhis fight."  
"Hmppff, Me and Valor are perfectly able to fight. It won`t be a problem at all."  
"Did you already forget that what has happened yesterday? How easy it was for me to defeat you, Quinn?"  
Quinn simply scowled at Talon, who smirked underneath his hood,  
"Then what do you propose we do, assassin?" She replied.  
"It's simple." Talon said, leaning in. "We kill the Snake King."  
"And how do you plan to do that?" Quinn asked.  
Talon shrugged. "I don't know. Stab it till it's dead? It almost worked for Kha'zix." He said as Quinn groaned.  
"You are good with blades, Talon, but your plans suck." She muttered as Talon snorted in derision.  
"I think Talon's plan is good! But it needs less stabby stabby and more Braum!" Braum said with enthusiasm as Fiora raised her eyes at Kha'zix after having mused over his account.

" You said he looked az' you and you… could noz' move?" Fiora asked as Kha'zix simply nodded.  
"_Roi des serpents. _King of snakes indeed. Even his name speaks volumes. _Bazilizk."  
_"So, all we need to do is have our Little Bird's pet gouge the snake's eyes out." Talon said as Quinn frowned at him again. "He's not my pet, Talon, he's my friend. And he can't do that, he'll get petrified."  
"Maybe that attack was triggered when his health went down too far? Like with Mundo and Tryndamere? They used to get stronger based on their missing health as well…"  
Kha'zix hissed, his face displaying a thoughtful look. "It is true that the snake only used it after I had half-killed him."  
"Well then, it's simple. You half-kill the snake again and we'll try to take out the rest." Talon said.  
"Every'zing isn't a simple _kill iz' z'ill it's dead_ 'zing, Noxian." Fiora said as Talon raised an eyebrow at her, unseen by all due to his hood. "It's worked well enough thus far."

"Yes, so it has for me as well. But we are not in the same world as we were." Kha'zix said, moving his lips in different, weird ways as he was exploring how having lips felt like. It looked like he was making a kissy face, which caused Braum to start guffawing. Everyone else found it amusing but that amusement did not eclipse the overall creepiness factor of a murderous voidbeast wearing a skin-suit, so no one else so much as smiled.

"Braum thinks we need practise before taking on big Snaky. It is easier that way."  
Talon nodded, but replied with a question. "Then where would we go? We don`t really get much out of all the Forest Boars and such."  
Quinn jumped in on these words, "We can go to the castle, and start leveling up over there. Aside from that, we should consider buying new equipment. Personally I could use a better weapon than this dagger. And I believe there are a lot of strong fencing weapons here as well. And we can all use some new healing items and armor anyway… How much money do we all have?"  
"Alot, but we don't really know how much 1 col is worth. So lets go find out." Talon said, pushing away his empty plate as everyone else followed suit, standing up and leaving the cafe as the cost of their food was automatically deducted from their stored money.

…

The shopping area was more like a bazaar, a large square tiled courtyard in the middle of the town, filled with multiple stalls that paraded a myriad of things, from weapons to armor to clothes to even pets.

Fiora was staring down flatly at a little white furry four legged animal that looked like a dog, with it's tongue hanging out and it's puppy dog eyes, but it had tiny antlers. The animal, which the shopkeeper identified as a 'Mirein', stared up at Fiora with it's big doe eyes shining and it's little tail wagging.  
"Good idea Fiora, we can throw that thing at the Basilisk to distract it." Talon said sarcastically from behind her as Fiora huffed, looking at Talon with venom in her eyes. "I was jus' looking." She said, glancing back at the adorable little pet with a trace of wistfulness in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Quinn was holding up different types of daggers in various shapes and sizes and asking Valor for his opinion, to which the bird was responding by… Well, squawking. Braum was scratching the back of his head sheepishly as he stared at a set of armor that was far too small for his massive form, but would've gone wonderfully with his shield. Kha'zix was perusing large greatswords and battleaxes, something that Talon found strange, so he walked over to see Kha'zix finalizing a purchase.  
As Kha'zix put the large battleaxe he had just bought into his inventory, Talon spoke. "Why would you be buying weapons, Void Reaver?"  
Kha'zix simply grinned his unsettling, inhuman grin as he looked at Talon and said, "Consume and adapt."

As Kha'zix walked off, Talon thought he heard something. Looking around, he spotted a shady looking shopkeeper in a tiny, cramped stall. The stall was placed in between two larger stalls, and whereas those stalls were bright and colorful, this one was quite dull with bleak gray colors.

"Hey. You. Come 'ere." The shopkeeper said.  
Frowning with skepticism, Talon walked over to the shopkeeper.

"You, my friend, are very lucky to have such high stats in all three skills of sneak, hear and sight." The man said as he smiled a mercurial smile.  
Talon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
"Ah, a new player, yes? A man must know what he is capable of." The shopkeeper did a small bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Miraaz D'ghar. A man must have a name, and yours is?"

Talon frowned further. This man was behaving quite differently from the other shopkeepers. "I am Talon. Tell me, are you an NPC or a player?" Saying the word 'NPC' felt quite foreign to Talon, yet it felt right.  
"Ah yes, it is a question many might ask. I have the pleasure to be one of the rarer NPCs who have a dedicated AI. To you, I might just be a living, breathing person. And thus, that makes me much more useful. Alas, a man must have the skills of a shadow to see the shadow seller, and you are a man skilled enough." Miraaz said. "Now, Talon, a man wishes to buy goods, yes? I have a variety of weapons and items that might quite meet your fancy… You won't find them in the other shops, but that is why my shop is special. A man who is skilled must have quality items."  
Talon looked around at his 'team mates'. They were all still busy with their own purchases and browsings and no one was paying him any mind. "Show me." He said as Miraaz smiled his mysterious smile.

"Hey Fiora!" Quinn called, as Fiora looked over to her fellow Demacian. Quinn held up a small dagger, that seemed quite different from the ones she had been looking at. It was smaller and more slender, with a very small guard. "What do you think of this? I don't know why but this feels right in my hand. The weight and everything, yet I can't hold it in a way I find comfortable." Quinn said as Fiora walked over, taking the dagger from her and inspecting it.  
" 'Zis isn't a dagger you use for figh'zing, Quinn. 'Zis is a Z'hrowin' dagger." Fiora said as Quinn frowned. She had never thrown daggers before. As Fiora walked away, Quinn stared down at the small weapon. It just… felt right in her hands.  
"What do you think Valor?"  
"Squaaawk."  
Quinn flipped the dagger over once more before deciding to buy it.

...

About an hour later, the group was walking out of the marketplace, heading towards out of the city towards the castle. The sun was past it's apex and on the fall as they left the city, Kha'zix leading the way.

"So we go in and begin to kill all the other Snakes so we can get stronger before we go for the Basilisk." Quinn said, repeating the plan for her benefit as well as for confirmation as everyone else gave a curt nod.  
Talon had bought an assortment of blades, as well as some… special things he got from Miraaz. Fiora had bought herself a new rapier, which had an enchantment weaved into the blade that allowed her to strike much faster. Braum had bought an enchanted bandana that he tied around his right upper arm, allowing him to regenerate his health at a much higher rate. Quinn had bought her throwing knife as well as multiple different herbs from the green-shops. Her high botanical skill apparently allowed her to see the medicinal properties of each herb and, therefore, she could also mix them into potions. Kha'zix has simply bought a very large battle axe, a two handed greatsword and a one-and-half handed bastard sword. After perhaps an hour or so of walking, the sun was beginning to set as Quinn glanced at Kha'zix.  
"Kha, can I take a look at your battle axe?" Quinn asked.  
Kha'zix shook his head, and continued to walk on. Quinn, on the other hand, stood still and spoke to the Voidling: "What? You can trust me… It`s not like I`ll damage it or something…"  
"It simply isn`t possible." Kha'zix said back. Quinn was about to reply again when suddenly she felt herself unable to speak, stunned by the huge doors that gave entrance to the castle.

[You`re about to enter Thousand Snake Castle. Advised level: 15+. Do you want to continue?]

Talon smiled and opened the left part of the door. Posing himself against the opened part he used his right hand to gesture his allies in. "Please, do enter this lovely establishment. After you, lady Laurent, miss Ranger." Valor flew in over their heads, while Quinn gave Talon a smirk.  
"Just Quinn please, 'mister' Talon. Ranger isn`t my surname."  
"Thank you very much!" Braum shouted as he passed through as the last member of their group, not giving Talon a chance to reply.  
Talon closed the door behind him and followed Kha'zix and Fiora, who were already on there way.

"Fight them as you`d fight the Baron!" Talon shouted. "Kite back and let Braum do the tanking! Braum, lift your shield up and distract them for a while!"  
"Yooooh! Braum is Here!" He shouted over all the noise of clattering weapons. They were engaged in a battle with almost ten of the snake-creatures, and Fiora was not able to parry everything. Quinn was also having difficulties, so Talon had decided to send in their tank to help her.  
Braum jumped in front of Quinn and looked at her. "Put away your worried face, Birdie. They have many, but you have Braum!"

After that he turned his gaze to the three snakes in front of Quinn and him. "To friends, I`m snowfall. To enemies, I`m avalanche!" A hissing was all the reply that he received from them, but Quinn used the time to pick one of the potions from her inventory, and drink it. Her health replenishing at a fast rate, and Braum keeping of her enemies, she used the time to look around. Kha'zix was perfectly fine against three of the sentinels, and wouldn`t need any healing soon. Talon was just elegantly dodging all of the attacks that his opponents tried to land, meanwhile stabbing back. He was standing behind Fiora, defending her back in the battle. Fiora had caught several blows, though the most severe ones were dealt to her pride. Her health was below 40%, getting near the red part.  
"Braum, I`m heading towards Fiora, she needs help and healing. Follow me!"  
"You can always trust Braum!"

"Diplomacy is served." Talon spoke as he slid the throat of the [307th Sentinel of the Snake King], depleting it`s HP and killing the last one. Fiora and Quinn dropped to the ground, and opened their HUD to take a look at the spoils of their victory.  
"Here, this one looks fitting for you, Braum." Quinn said, opening up a trade with the Heart of the Freljord.  
"What`s this… A new shoulder piece? I like it. Thank you, Birdie. Braum has something for you as well."

[New Items Received: **Throwing Dagger x3 | Cloak of Agility | Snake Venom x8 | Snake Skin x2**]

"Wow Braum. This is awesome!" She inspected the description of her new cloak, and read the stats and flavor text while equipping it.  
_A Cloak often used by scouts and archers. Enhances accuracy and speed in battle.  
_"If you`re done gawking at your new piece of cloth, I also have an item for you." The Noxian Assassin said.

[Talon has send you an item: **Small Belt**]

Surprised, Quinn studied the new item and equipped it as well. It was a simple belt, but in her inventory, it displayed several slots. Getting an idea of how it would work, Quinn selected her daggers, and dragged them to one of the slots. As expected, they became visible.  
"This way, you no longer need to equip a new dagger manually. You can just pick them from your belt. I have something here for you as well, lady Laurent. It might interest you."

[New Item Received: **Musketeer`s Novice Armor**]

Fiora equipped her new chestpiece, and Quinn gasped. "Fiora. That looks stunning on you. Amazing…"  
"Not bad, I suppose." Talon smirked, but Fiora was too busy admiring her new clothes to notice.  
"I guess I haz' to say 'Zhank you, azzazin. But I fear I haz' nozhing of inzerest pour toi."  
"Don`t mind it, we`ll find something eventually. Hey, Kha'zix, ya ready? We can move on to the next part." Talon called at the bug, who was just munching on… steel?  
"Kha'zix, what are you doing? Are you eating your weapons?" Talon asked, moving closer to the Voidling.  
"Of course I am. Did you ever see me using human weapons during the fight, foolish being? I consume, and adapt accordingly."  
"I see, so that`s why you bought way too many of those heavy weapons. Clever… Anyway, ready to continue? Fiora and Braum have healed up, and we`re all fired up now."

* * *

_Talon - Level 14 - Thousand Snake Castle - Floor 10 - Defeat the Basilisk (Party Quest) - 379 col.  
Quinn - Level 13 - Thousand Snake Castle - Floor 10 - Defeat the Basilisk (Party Quest)- 547 col.  
__Braum - Level 13 - Thousand Snake Castle - Floor 10 - Defeat the Basilisk (Party Quest)- 979 col.  
__Kha'zix - Level 17 - Thousand Snake Castle - Floor 10 - Defeat the Basilisk - 687 col.  
__Fiora - Level 13 - Thousand Snake Castle - Floor 10 - Defeat the Basilisk (Party Quest)- 348 col._

* * *

**_"Caw - Wingsu Senpai 2014 "  
__"Approved - Alsodef 2014"_**


	4. Progress

**Chapter 4: Progress**

"Here, this is the room." Kha'zix hissed. They stood in front of the two big doors, which were significantly different from the rest. The first thing that the five of them noticed was the glowing, which was a mixture of poisonous green and a sunset`s red. On it were several decorations, showing pictures of ancient battles. There were also a few hints of snakes on the doors, which wasn't a big surprise, when one looked at the name of the castle, and the creature that was locked inside.  
"Ready guys?" Talon asked his companions, who all nodded, hissed or squawked in consent.  
"Very well. Remember our tactics, and good luck."  
"To you as well Talon." Quinn said, while Braum and Fiora made some last adjustments to their gear. They were pretty well equipped now, due to the large amount of sentinels that they had defeated on their way to the room. Talon touched the door, and it opened itself.  
"Let`s make you a new handbag, Ranger."

The fires lit up around them, just as they had done when Kha'zix fought the Basilisk.  
"'Zhere he is. _Le_ _Roi des serpents…_" Fiora whispered, a hint of excitement leaking through in her voice.  
"Poro guy, stand ready to do as we discussed." Kha'zix said, for the first time addressing someone at his name, sort of… Braum didn`t mind this title though, since he was in fact the "Poro Guy", though he was without Poros now.  
"I`m here, purple. Braum is on the job!" He said while raising his shield.  
"Good, let`s get this over with." Talon spoke, while equipping a new armblade, one that he had bought at Miraaz`s store. If what this man had told him was true, this weapon would prove very useful during the upcoming battle.  
"Do as planned. Braum, get his aggro! Charge!"

The fight commenced, and Quinn noticed that there were indeed many similarities as with fighting Baron Nashor. The Basilisk`s attacks were focused at the one closest to the beast, so in their case it meant that Braum was taking and tanking all the blows with either his shield or body. Braum stood in front of the monster, slapping its face with the door and leaving small hints of frost. The rest of the group approached from the sides, and started slashing the creature at all possible points. It went as planned, and the first thirty percent wasn`t that much of a problem. But it was then that they made their first mistake. Talon and Fiora were concentrating their blows at a single point, trying to maximize the damage as fast as possible. The result of this, however, was that the Basilisk turned its attention away from Braum, and towards the two that were hitting him so hard. Braum looked surprised for a second, but caught up quite fast and rushed towards Talon and Fiora, dragging his shield over the floor.

Quinn, in the meantime, was coordinating her attacks with Valor, throwing and stabbing her daggers at the Basilisk`s weak spots, mainly the eyes and the points where the scales were already damaged. Against her honest expectations, she managed to hit a fair share of her daggers. Kha'zix was perfectly fine on his own, and used the same tactic as he did when he fought the Basilisk on his own; He jumped on top of its head and started slashing with a wild fury burning in his eyes. He had never been defeated, and this creature would pay for the humiliation he had brought upon the Void Reaver. Just as before, his claws didn`t deal that much damage, even though he had consumed all the axes and the greatsword. Not knowing what else to do, he just continued hitting the Basilisk as hard and fast as he could.

Talon didn`t like the way it was going. Braum`s healthbar was dropping too fast to continue doing this, and he and Fiora had been forced to pull back after they had made the mistake of pulling the aggro of the monster to them. The Basilisk was now at roughly sixty percent of its health, but it wasn`t dropping fast enough. He had expected Kha'zix to do more damage as well, but the head of the "King of Snakes" was still looking pretty healthy. '_Come on, Talon. What is going wrong? Think, for Blood`s sake. Think!'_ He shouted mentally. Braum, Fiora and himself were all hit a few times, only two were fully healthy, Quinn and…

"Kha'zix, trust me!" he shouted before rushing over to Quinn, and grabbing one of her throwing daggers from the belt around her waist. It was not much of a dagger, but it was balanced good enough for throwing. Talon took a deep breath, moved his wrist and released the dagger.

Kha'zix had looked up to Talon at his shout, but only a second after he was hit by something. He looked at his shoulder, and noticed the petty dagger inside it. Already, his blood was eroding the dagger in high speed. Why would the assassin betray him now, he wondered. Surely he wouldn't be able to defeat the Basilisk by himself, and this dagger didn`t even hurt him. Only a millisecond after his first thought, Kha'zix saw the meaning. For a moment, Kha'zix scolded himself for not thinking about this himself, he had acted like an idiot. He placed his right claw on the damaged shoulder, pushing the dagger further in and pushing some venomous blood out.

After the dagger was absorbed, and his claws were both coated in blood, he lashed out again. The result was immediate, the venom melted the scales on top of the head, or made cracks in the thicker ones. The Basilisk shrieked, and Talon saw the true power of the Voidling for the first time. Its health was dropping, and nearly reached the fifty percent mark. Quinn had noticed as well, and Valor was already making his moves.

Fiora was not having the best time. First, she had been hit several times. Second, she was not in control of the situation. Third, she wasn`t the strongest fighter around. All three of these things were blows to her pride. She knew that both Talon and Kha'zix could easily best her, and Quinn had always been a different fighter than that she was. Sure, in a duel she would probably be able to defeat her, and if it was a official fencing duel Talon wouldn`t be a match for her as well, but if they were fighting to the death, and not with some fancy fencing rules to bind them, she would lose to both of them. Kha'zix was a whole different class, and she was absolutely amazed by the power of the voidbeast.

"FIORA, TURN!" Talon shouted as he turned away, pulling at his hood for more protection. At the same time, Braum had stepped in front of Quinn and raised his shield to hide them. Kha'zix has closed his eyes, letting his other sense guide him as he continued to hack away at the Basilisk's head. Fiora blinked, not realizing what they were doing until she looked up at Kha'zix and the Basilisk's eyes flashed with power, a yellow glow piercing through Fiora, who froze where she stood, her face still holding the look of mild surprise although the terror in her eyes was fully visible.

"Dammit, Fiora's out! Braum!" Talon said as soon as the Basilisk's petrifying gaze had ended, allowing the fight to resume in earnest again. Braum moved quickly, running to Fiora and then shoving her harshly away to the edges of the fight. Fiora's body didn't even move as she fell on her back and skidded across the smooth floor like a statue.

As soon as the vulnerable Fiora was out of the way, Talon watched as Kha'zix brought down both of his claws down into the basilisk's head with a screech, pulling up viciously even as Braum skidded to a stop infront of the basilisk, facing Talon. Talon began running as soon as Quinn had started running as well, both of them sprinting towards Braum. Time was short, and it was now or never.

Quinn reached Braum first as Braum angled his shield, Quinn jumping off of the shield, followed by Talon. In mid air, Quinn reached back for Talon, as Talon reached out for her. Time seemed to fly in slow motion as the wind pushed Talon's hood off, revealing his dark maroon eyes and chocolate brown hair. Quinn's own golden eyes widened a bit at the revelation as their hands inched closer… And finally, their hands clasped together, just as Valor swooped in and caught Quinn's other arm, flying the opposite way. Quinn spun her body around in mid air, aided by Valor, as she flung Talon at the Basilisk to help him get even higher as she shouted, "It's all you, Talon!"

The plan was originally for Fiora to dash in and create an opening, but with Fiora out, Talon would have to resort to his new armblade's capabilities. As Kha'zix wrenched the Basilisk's head up even more, baring the beast's neck for Talon, Talon brought his arm back as he took the stance for one of his blade-skills. His thin armblade glowed as his arms vibrated, the power storing up just as he came close enough… And then his arm shot forward with a cry from his mouth, the blade glowing white with a red outline.

It clashed against the softer, exposed neck, shattering the scales and going deep into the fleshy neck of the Basilisk as the creature let out a bloodcurdling roar, his health plummeting as the critical spot was struck over and over again. The health bar broke as it completely depleted, the Basilisk beginning to vibrate, cracks appearing on it's body as white light flooded out of the cracks.

Kha'zix jumped off as Talon fell to the ground with a roll, just as the Basilisk exploded into a million blue dots. Fiora broke out of her petrification and looked at the text that had appeared.  
**[Congratulations! You have defeated the Basilisk, King of all Snakes  
****Talon  
****Kha'zix  
****Quinn  
****-Valor  
****Braum  
****-Selador Snow  
****Fiora  
****Scales of the Basilisk x5, Venomous Fangs x2, Potent Snake Venom x3, 769 Col, 1200 XP, Congratulations, you have levelled up to level 14!]  
****[New Skill Unlocked: Blade Step, Show Skill at Skill Menu?: Yes/No]  
****[Quest Updated: Defeat the Basilisk. Collect Reward &amp; Progress To Skotadi/Floor 11]**

For the moment, Fiora pressed "No", and looked at the others. There were happy exclamations from Quinn`s side. "I`m level fourteen, and I have a new skill! How about you Braum?" She asked, but Braum did not answer her. Instead, he looked around the room, searching for something. "Braum? What`s wrong?"  
"I wonder, who is Selador?" He said, causing every one of them to look back at the message that was floating in the air.  
"You`re right… Maybe it is a bug of some kind?" Talon said, not really believing the truth of his own words, he didn`t really believe that a world as detailed and pretty as this one would have "bugs", even if it was, in essention, a game.  
Kha'zix hissed: "I sense another living being in this room. But I cannot identify it. I do not know."  
Talon took a defensive and alert stance, dismissing the small notification to the side of his HUD with a swift swipe.  
"Who`s there!?" He shouted, his voice echoing against the four walls of the square room.  
Braum lifted his door and took position next to Talon. All of their eyes were staring around the room. This "Selador" was somewhere in the room, trying to steal their experience and gold. But, these adventurers weren't supposed to be here just yet, so who was this guy?  
Fiora re-equipped her blade and took her position next to Talon, Kha'zix joining the line of warriors at the same time. Quinn manipulated her HUD to create some last-minute potions, two daggers ready for use.  
It was then, that their opponent decided to show up. From behind them, there was a muffled sound, like someone trying to sneak up on them. However, this couldn`t trick Talon, nor Quinn, and they turned around in an instant. Yet, there was still nobody there. Quinn stepped forward, a dagger ready to either throw or stab.  
"Porow?" The sound came from near their feet, but Quinn wasn`t sure if it had been real, or if she had imagined it.  
"Did you… Did you guys hear that as well?" Quinn whispered half a second before Braum broke their formation and ran forward.  
"Mister Moustache! Why are you here?" He said, a small hint of sadness, but mostly joy, in his voice. "Poor boy. Did you stick with Braum that morning? Didn`t Braum tell you to stay home?"  
Talon relaxed his arms, shook his head in disbelief and sheathed his weapons, as did the Demacian girls.  
The Poro, Mister Moustache -or Sellador Snow, as he had apparently called himself- looked up at the friendly face and squealed while running at his master. When looking through his HUD, Talon saw a strange icon, floating about the animal`s head. The icon itself looked like a cat, and Talon realised that this was the same icon that was floating about Valor. Talon moved through the screens in front of him, and found the icon in the guide. **[Pet Follower, Non-Dragon Type, Unknown]  
**Talon whistled, Non-Dragon meant that there were also dragons, and apparently they could be used as followers. His mind drifted to the possibilities of this, while Braum was installing the Poro on his shoulder.  
"Talón! Tu haz' to 'zhea 'zhis…"

The walls in the very back of the room were moving, parting from each other and forming a corridor. At the back of the newly appeared hallway, Talon spotted a staircase. It looked like it was ascending into the dark. The assassin looked at his teammates, especially looking at their health. It was back to at least an acceptable green threshold, as was his own.  
"Interesting… Let`s move on, my friends." He said, his last words earning a smirk from the fencer and a big smile from Braum while they rose to their feet and stretched. Kha'zix was already moving towards the darkness in front of them, and Talon followed in the Void Reaper`s steps.

**[Floor XI - Skotadi]  
**The text was written on the door, and Kha'zix studied it with interest. The engravement looked ancient, even though it probably wasn`t. The developer of the world that they were in had done a magnificent job with all these small details. Using his claw, Kha'zix tried to make a scratch on the door in front of them, simply to find out if he could damage the environment that they were in. Instead of leaving a scratch however, Kha'zix found the door opening as soon as he`d touched it. Next to the purple voidling, Talon shut his eyes almost entirely in anticipation of the sun that would hit their eyes as soon as they would pass the door and get in the open, there was only more darkness. A faint dark presence, not pitch-dark, but still a darkness. The voidling hissed in surprise, and looked around. The world didn`t look as big as the previous floor, and it certainly wasn`t as awfully bright as far as Kha'zix considered. The nightvision that the voidling possessed remained active, and it was apparent that both the assassin and the ranger had the same nightvision through their years of training, at least to a certain degree.  
It was Quinn who spoke up: "Good, where are we, and where will we go?"  
All of them looked around, and they spotted the lights almost simultaneously. There were lightbulbs moving in on their position, fast.  
"We don`t know what this is, but they are moving too fast for humans. Be prepared for anything." Talon said, readying his armblade.  
"Stand behind Braum, Assassin. They cannot hurt you, if they cannot hit you." The Freljordian said with his ever jolly voice, but also with a serious hint to it. Talon moved back, and allowed Braum to take over his place in the front.  
"Valor, move out." Quinn whispered. It was answered by a soft "Caw" and the ruffling of feathers as the demacian eagle took to the air. Seeing that their preparations were ready, Talon looked at Kha'Zix and nudged his head to the trees that were nearby. The voidling showed something that could be seen as a smile, though it would be better described with the word 'grin' and moved to the trees.

"Incoming, their HUD`s show red healthbars. Enemy mobs." Quinn whispered to the three others around her. Without making a sound, she crouched next to Talon at the side of the road that led to the staircase they had climbed several minutes ago. "Very well, Fiora, execute the discussed strategy. Braum, with her."

Their enemies were several batlike creatures, though some of them looked more like the wraiths from the Rift. The fight was short, and not really hard if Talon would compare it to their bossbattle just a few moments ago. Talon mostly stayed to the back, to give the Demacian fencer a way to lose her anger. Though she didn`t really show it, Fiora had been rather pissed after the battle. She hadn't really been of any use, and had basically only held them back in the end. It wasn't how Talon saw it, but the Demacian girl needed to proof that she could fight, and reclaim her honor in that way. The positive side-effect of this was that Talon could use the time to study all of his teammates, or party-members as they were called in this "game". The most surprising thing to see was Selador Snow, and the way that this little Poro tried his very best to fight against creatures that were mostly flying.

He was going to kill them all. He would strike them down where they were, and he would be the strongest warrior ever. If only… If only those enemies that he was facing were stuck on the ground, instead of flying several feet above him. Selador jumped up as high as he could, but without the help of Fairy Dust he would never reach high enough. Maybe… Maybe he should ask mister Braum to lift him up? It wasn't really fitting for a Poro Warrior to be lifted up by someone just so that he could reach them, but how could he ever fight them otherwise? Just as he was about to ask, one of the wraiths flew down to strike his master from behind. Seeing this as his chance, he jumped up and managed to get a grasp on the wraith and was about to bury his ferocious fangs into it`s body, yet all he managed to do before his toothless mouth lost its grip on the wraith was to give it a lick and leave only a trail of Poro saliva on the wraith. However, it had a side-effect that became apparent to Selador as he fell down to the ground. Around the place where he had managed to hit the wraith, the spirit started to burn. It couldn't bleed, but it screamed in agony, and it`s healthbar went from green to a flashing red. The Poro looked up with a proud smile. Maybe now his master would recognise his ability to fight, and wouldn`t keep him hidden behind his shield all the time.

Quinn ducked, jumped and slashed around with her dagger, coordinating most of her attacks with Valor and making quick work of the enemies. Just as the wraith in front of her disappeared in a cloud of blue bubbles Quinn had a clear view on the Poro that was following Braum ever since they had finished. It jumped up to a wraith that was nearing Braum in it`s back, but he didn`t manage to do much aside from grabbing on the cloths for a few seconds. The wraith, however, screamed and moved away from the Poro. Through her HUD Quinn noticed an icon, floating above the abomination. Not wasting a second, because Quinn guessed that the effect wouldn't be lasting, she pulled out a throwing dagger and aimed at the creature. It struck in the exact same spot as where Selador Snow had left his mark, and it went straight into her enemy. The wraith screamed again, and his health went down to nothing more but a small red shard. Braum turned around and looked at the screaming enemy before extending his fist into the place where his face probably was, or had been long ago. All that remained of the creature was a small In-game box: **[Poro-touched Ravaged Cloth x2, 17 Col. 120XP]**.

It was the last creature to fall, and their fight was over. Quinn pointed at the floating message-box and looked at Braum.  
"Touched by a poro? What is special to that? Can I take a look at it?" Quinn asked, hardly waiting for Braum`s reply and taking the piece of cloth in her hands. "It looks like normal cloth to me… But it`s stats are slightly different, and the flavor text tells something about armor for pets. Maybe we need more of it before we can actually make something of this?"

**[New Quest: A Place to Stay. Rewards: Key to Lotus Manor Room, 120XP, Show Quest? Yes/No]**

"Oh, a place to stay, eh? That sounds heartwarming." Braum said, touching the floating 'Yes' and opening up the quest details.  
[_Every warrior needs a good place to stay, rest and eat. Aincrad holds many great places, but no place is as good a place as Lotus Manor. We offer rooms for a cheap price, the most delicious food that you will ever find. Together with the best service and entertainment, Lotus Manor will make sure all your wishes are fulfilled. Once you`ve arrived, you never want to leave again!_] It looked more like an advertisement than a quest, but it looked promising nonetheless. After all that had happened, all of them were pretty tired and could use some sleep, aside from Kha'zix, who never was tired anyway. Talon had the message in front of them, and remembered the lights that they had spotted when they had just arrived. If they would go looking for a town, it was as good as a place to start as any. After a small conversation, they set off to find Lotus Manor. Each one of them was too tired to realise that Kha'zix was not tagging along with them. The Void Reaver had disappeared into the darkness at the moment as the quest had appeared.

"There are not many NPC's here, are there?" Quinn said, as they stood in the middle of the town. "I mean, sure it`s in the middle of the night, but that place on the previous floor was way more alive than this, even in the night."  
Talon had noticed the same several minutes ago, the gates weren't guarded, and the few NPC's that they saw were just doing nothing at all. Corfyre was busy, and there was always something to do, while this town -apparently named Lotophage- looked more like a ghosttown that still had some of its inhabitants left. There was one building that actually looked good and lively in this entire town, and it was their destination for the night: Lotus Manor.

"Hello and welcome to Lotus Manor! Here are your keys for your suite, enjoy your stay!"  
**[Quest Completed, Rewards: 120XP, New Item Received: Lotus Key #47]  
**Braum took the key out of his inventory and studied it. "That was easy, wasn't it?" He said, earning nods from Fiora and Quinn. The same thought had made itself known in Talon`s head, as he thought it was almost too easy. They even weren't asked to pay for anything, but just given their keys right away. Well, he would think about that tomorrow, he was too tired now anyway. Talon went to his own room, and studied it. It looked nice, and clean. Better than he had hoped for after the long day that they had had today. The assassin sighed and unclasped his cloak, dropping it on a chair that was in corner of the room. Kicking off his boots, he just dropped on the bed and stared up to the ceiling. Kha'zix wasn't with them, but he wouldn't need sleep or anything anyway. He wasn't sure how they would handle the voidling in the future, for though he was a good companion today, he might turn into a murderous animal at any given time. Talon sneered at his own thoughts, there wasn't much to do about anyway, so worrying about it wouldn't do him any good. Talon opened his HUD in front of him, as he did every evening before going to sleep. During the day he would normally dismiss all the messages, since all they did at that moment was distracting him. He would read them when they would settle down for the night, when he had all the time and no imminent dangers around him.

**[Congratulations, you have levelled up to level 15!]  
[Congratulations, you have levelled up to level 16!]**

**[New Skill Unlocked: Shadowblade-Unseen, Show Skill at Skill Menu?: Yes/No]  
[New Skill Unlocked: Shadowblade-Unsheath, Show Skill at Skill Menu?: Yes/No]**

**[You`ve entered Floor 11 - Skotadi, the World of Permanight. Welcome!]  
[Quest Completed, Rewards: 120XP, New Item Received: Lotus Key #36]  
[Quest Updated: Defeat the Basilisk. Collect Reward &amp; Progress To Skotadi/Floor 11]  
**  
He had planned to take a look at his new skills, but decided that he was too tired to do so. He closed the screen and fell asleep a mere few seconds after.

* * *

_Talon - Level 16 - Lotus Manor, Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward. - 1879 col.  
Quinn - Level 14 - Lotus Manor, Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 1547 col.  
__Braum - Level 14 - Lotus Manor, Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 2307 col.  
__Kha'zix - Level 18 - Dungeon of Mirk - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward. A Place to Stay, Go to Lotus Manor. - 1687 col.  
__Fiora - Level 14 - Lotus Manor, Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 1248 col._

* * *

**_It took a while, but it is here anyway. About the update schedule, it looks like this story will go a bit slower for now. I am in the last few months of my highschool (hopefully), and that is something that I will focus on for now :s. On the other hand: I have a new laptop that I can write on.  
_****_Stay tuned for now, and thanks for reading!_**

**_-Alsodef_**


	5. Escaping the Manor

**Chapter 5: Escaping the Manor**

* * *

_Floor 9 - Ignitas, The World of Flames - Day 102_

It was now four months ago since they had all been trapped inside this deathgame. Only four months, and all that they had achieved in that time were eight floors. And, even when most of the clearers were highly overleveled, they had still suffered casualties along the climb. Outside of the clearer-group, there were a lot of fellow gamers that had started to venture out. Though this meant that the group of clearers had possibilities to get more members in the future, it also caused several more deaths every week.

The black-clad boy had just finished his update for the survival-guide of Aincrad, and now focussed on the food in front of him. There were no villages or cities on this floor, only fire and dust. The good thing about this, was that they could easily deduce the location of the Boss-room. You didn't have to be that smart to know that in a world of fire, which only held one vulcano as a change of landscape, the boss would be in the exact same fiery mountain.

They had planned the first clear for this night, as was the usual schedule of the clearing group. And thus, here he was. Kirito didn't like being among other people, since they never trusted him. He had learned, the hard way, that he could best repay that favor by not trusting anyone himself.

So, there he was, seated on the ground, away from the ring of clearers, but within hearing range. He was someone who generally went out on his own, mainly to protect people from himself. Kirito was desperately trying to avoid that people would care for him, or that he would care too much about others. In a world like this, it could all be over in a few seconds, at any moment. It made him sad not being able to make friends, but it was better this way.

Looking at the sad features of the Black Swordsman, the girl that stood at the edge of the ring felt a pang of sadness as well. Ever since the fight with the first boss- No, that wasn't true, she thought by herself. Ever since they had appeared in the world of Aincrad, the boy had taken care for others, from the shadows. Without him, she would have been lost in this world long ago, or would just have given up already. Most of the clearers would have done the same by now as well, she thought. On the first, third and seventh floor, it had been that boy who had almost won the raid single-handedly. She had been in his party at the first raid, but he had left everyone right after that. While most of them had celebrated in the Starting City, he had ventured on towards the second floor. If anyone would have asked her to make a rough guess at his level, Asuna`s guess would be that he was around 40, probably even higher. That was almost twice her level, and she was considered "high" among the clearers. It was insane, of course, that anyone would be level 40 at floor nine.

A loud voice pulled Asuna back to the scene in front of her. There was a discussion between two of the cliques in the clearer-group. Although founding a guild was possible in this game, they had yet to discover where to do that. It would probably be unlocked on floors higher than the one that they were on now.  
"We are strong enough, we can head into that volcano right now and defeat the boss!"  
"Idiot, what good would it do to rush in there right now? We have no information about the boss' skills, or if it has any servants of some sort."  
"We know enough! And we need to make some progress, we've been stuck here for a while already. We don't need a first clear, we can do this."  
Asuna didn't like any of the two guys, who continued shouting at each other, but she did approve with the fact that they needed to prepare the fight, instead of just rushing in for the sake of 'making progress'.  
"Did you already forget about floor seven, Oda? They thought they could handle the boss on their own, and we lost some great fighters for no reason. I will not allow any of us to go there before we've scouted everything."  
"And how do you think to stop us, Gevan? You are not the one that makes up the rules in this group…"  
Hands moved towards swords and axes while everyone focussed on the two of them, who were locked in an intense staring battle.  
Finally, the guy named Oda gave up and turned away from his opponent, walking back to his own group of friends. Asuna looked over the assembled group again, as tension leaked away from the scene. It was the third time in the past week that they had had some sort of clash between members of the clearing-group.  
Asuna shook her head, sooner or later the powder keg that was building up would explode, either claiming lives or progress.

"Die!" Kirito yelled as his sword cleaved through a burning [Rage Demon], taking the last part of its health away. The monster dissipated into bubbles and showed a small pop-up with information about the received experience and money.  
Kirito sighed, sheathed his blade on his back and walked with the rest of the group, on towards the next room.

* * *

_Floor 11 - Skotadi - Lotophage - Lotus Manor - Day 102_

The Demacian Ranger stirred awake, looking through the room. Her head was not fully awake just yet, so she waited for that before finally getting out of her bed. Following her normal everyday morning routine she walked into the bathroom and prepared the hot water in the available bathtub. After ridding herself of her sleeping wear she sank into the bath, letting out a sigh of pleasure as the hot water engulfed her senses. It was not often that she had the chance to take a bath, since she was out scouting most of the time.

It was only by accident that she opened up her HUD, yet it caused her to be stunned for several moments. On her HUD were over three hundred unread messages, more than there should have been there when one had slept for around ten hours. Picking some messages out of her inbox randomly, Quinn`s mind became only more confused.

**[Congratulations! Floor 6, Watery Redoubt is cleared. All players can now advance to Floor 7.]**

**[Aincrad Daily Post - Day 102: Clearers have discovered the Floor 8 boss-room, first run will be tomorrow. **_**Read more…**_**]**

"What is going on here?" Quinn whispered, stunned as her mind tried to put all the pieces together. Apparently, they had been locked in here for almost three months. The question was: 'how?' Quinn shook her head at this thought. There was a more important question, and Quinn whispered this one to herself: "How do we get out?"

Quinn equipped herself and left her room, daggers drawn and throwing knives at the ready. If she remembered correctly, Talon's room was on the other side of the hallway. Braum`s room was next to his. Kha'zix was not with them, but a quick glance at her HUD told her that he was still in their party and alive. Fiora slept next to her room, but Quinn knew from experience that nobody could ever wake the fencer before noun without risking some severe wounds. So, her best option would be to go to Talon, and find out what he knew and what he would do.

Talon did not reply when Quinn knocked the door, so he was either asleep or still under influence of whatever it was that kept them here. Deciding that she would need to take action anyway, Quinn used one of the more Noxian skills in her repertoire: lockpicking.  
With a satisfying sound, the lock broke and the door opened. Talon laid in his bed, eyes open, yet not awake. As she moved closer, Quinn`s eyes wandered over his face. Without the harsh looks, Talon looked rather relaxed. She moved her hand to his arm, intending to shake it.

Someone was in his room, Talon could hear it. Female, if his hearing was correct in this strange world. The person was not trying to sneak, but walked lightly nonetheless. She was used to do that. Quinn. Humoring himself, Talon stayed quiet and waited for the Demacian Ranger`s actions. As she was about to grab his arm, the Noxian assassin moved and grabbed hers, resulting in the ranger letting out a short yelp. Following this motion, Talon pulled Quinn over him, using the edge of his bed as a lever. Unsheathing a dagger in the same move, Talon rolled on top of her and moved the steel to her neck.

"Goodmorning to you as well, birdy." He said, the dagger leaving a small red line on her soft skin.

Quinn however, after getting over the first moments of shock, replied in a way he had not expected. "Talon, you're awake!" She shouted, way too surprised.

The assassin was taken aback by this, rose his eyebrow and looked like he was about to question the girl`s sanity. Before he could do so however, Quinn continued.

"We have been in this building for almost three months…"

"Okay, now I'm certain that you lost your mind… We came here yesterday, remember?"

"I'm not going crazy, Noxian. Check your messages, then you'll know what I mean." Quinn moved her hand to the dagger, and pushed it away from her while Talon was browsing through the HUD, still on top of her. As Quinn realised this, her cheeks grew red, but she waited for Talon to finish checking his messages.

"Unbelievable, this should not be possible…" He muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he moved his hand through the air to navigate through his messages.

"This entire world should not be possible, but it is, so I have no problem believing that this is real. Now, if you would please get off me before someone enters this-"

"Sacre Bleu!"

"-room." Quinn finished, seeing a completely freaked out Fiora standing in the doorway. "How are you gonna explain this, Noxian?"

The assassin grinned. "Me? Remember that this is my room, birdy." He replied, ignoring the fencer completely.

"How am I supposed to explain things while you still lie down on top of me?"

"Hmm, you're right. That might put things in a weird perspective. You two have fun figuring this out, I'm going to take a shower-" He moved his face closer to hers and whispered the conclusion of his words: "Till next time, little bird. ."

With a swift move, he got off of her and walked past the stunned fencer, out of his room.

"Fiora, on the risk of sounding waaaaay too cliché: This is not what it looks like." Quinn spoke, shaking her head.

"'Zhis looks like treason…" The fencer growled.

"But, as I just said, it isn't. So sit down, and let me explain the situation to you. Although, it might be better to get Braum in here first, otherwise I would have to explain it to him yet another time."

In the time that it took for the bald man to wake up and enter the room, Talon was back from the shower. With her three companions in front of her, Quinn started her briefing: "Okay, I want the three of you to open up your inbox, and tell me what you see."

Talon had experienced this a few minutes back, but watched in amusement when Fiora and Braum bore shocked faces, faces that became more terrified when realisation dug in. The fencer unconsciously took a step backwards, trying to step away from the facts. The HUD remained on the same distance of her face though, the number 312 still as confronting.

"Braum does not understand. Braum was tired, aye, but not so. Braum did not sleep for a hundred days…"

"Neither of us noticed, but we should have when we entered. There were no other guests in the building, while with common inns this was the case. This building is a trap, and we failed to notice. Now, we should prepare for combat… If they put so much energy in keeping us in, they probably do not want us to leave. They might change as soon as we show up there."

The two ladies, as well as Braum, agreed with the Noxian`s statement and equipped their weaponry before leaving the room.

In what felt like the past few days, they had grown accustomed to each other. And in battleformation, they descended the stairs to the central lobby. However, Fiora thought, they could not risk just attacking normal villagers. She placed her lithe hand on Braum's shoulder and walked past his shield. Placing some of her money on the counter, she looked at the girl behind the desk.  
"vWe are going to leave. 'zhank you for letting us stay."

The girl behind the desk did not reply, but every moment, more and more hotel employees came into the room.

"Braum suggest we leave fast, and so does Mister Moustache."

The 'Poro!' that came from Braum's shield reminded Quinn to the fact that they the little ball of fur was also a part of their strange group. Still, Quinn couldn't help but agree. Things were starting to get dangerous here, and to avoid trouble, they should leave as soon as possible.

"Head for the doors, stay in formation. Gain as much ground before they attack..." She whispered, knowing that they would not have long.

As they walked towards the door, Talon noticed that every NPC in the building was now gathering in the room, and the four of them were slowly increasing their pace. The fencer had her hand on her blade, ready to lunge at the first one that would dare stand in their way. Talon had long since equiped his blades, Quinn had her throwing daggers at the ready and Braum was still lifting his shield high. The heart of the Freljord was tense, constantly pressing the muscles in his legs, ready to jump in front of the first danger that would appear in sight.

The NPC's did not stand peacefully. When the group crossed some sort of invisible line, hell broke loose. Nametags changed from [Lotophage Servant] to [Lotophage Warrior] and as one they all attacked. Blades, axes, shields and daggers appeared onto their bodies, and within moments they all rushed towards the group of four players.

"Formation!" Talon shouted, immediately taking his position behind Braum`s big shield. The big muscled man turned towards the closest source of danger, a group of seven [Lotophage Warriors] and placed his shield in front of him and his friends, effectively ramming it into the face of the fastest warrior of the group. Just as effectively shoving him back into the group and knocking him and two others down for the moment. Thus, also effectively, starting the fight.

They were being swarmed, that much was clear to the fencer. Fiora detested these kinds of fights. She was the fencer of the League, unbeatable in a one on one battle -she didn't count cheating assassins- and probably able to beat all of their enemies if they would come at her one after the other. However, now that she was being swarmed, she was lucky to have her allies with her. Braum was doing wonders with his huge shield, and while she hated to admit it, the Noxian did do a good job as well. Quinn was teaming up with Talon, and did a good job at that. While lunging her blade at another insolent enemy, she smiled. Her best friend, teaming up with someone that was their sworn enemy. She had seen the looks that they had shot at each other when they thought that the other was not looking.

A blade that was moving towards her abdomen brought her mind back to the reality. With a jump backwards she dodged it, the blade swinging past her and almost hitting another enemy. She blocked the next strike, slid her small rapier past the blade and stepped forward to give her blade more power in it's next stab. The [Lotophage Warrior] turned into bubbles and opened up the spot for a new opponent to jump in. Fiora sighed, another one that would prove unworthy to her blade in the end.

Quinn moved back behind Braum, already taking out the potions and herbs that she would need for healing her allies. While she was doing this, the Noxian assassin looked around the room. They had taken their position in a corner of the room, behind a few tables and Braum's shield. There was no end to the flow of enemies, and while they were not hard to beat, they were still with way too many. They would hold long against them, but not forever. The herbs that Little Bird used for healing them, would eventually run out. If they would continuously be swarmed, they would have to take the first opportunity to get out of the building, if that opportunity would ever arise. Three enemy NPC's tried to climb over the tables to get behind Braum. With a swift slash his dagger, he killed the first one. Using the special ability of his second weapon, he blinked behind the second [Lotophage Warrior] and gutted his throat with a swift pull of the blade, a motion that he had made countless times in the past. The third one dissipated before Talon could reach him, a throwing dagger falling to the ground. He picked it up and made his way over to the Little Bird, handing over her property and giving her a nod of acknowledgement before going back to defending their table-wall again.

After almost fifty minutes of constant fighting, there still was no end to their enemies. There was an end to their supplies though, and that end was coming in sight. Quinn had lost her throwing daggers somewhere in the fray, and the battle was still nothing different than before. Their table wall was still their line of defense, but they were losing ground slowly. They had decided that they would have to make a run for it, fight their way to the door and leave through there. It was their only legit hope, since the stream of enemies was apparently endless. She and Talon had already cleared the table that was in their way out of their path and they were now defending the new opening themselves.  
"Now!" Talon shouted. And Quinn followed him into the battle, fighting on all sides at once and defending both herself and Talon`s back. Braum left his opening together with Fiora and Quinn watched as they both made a beeline towards her position. They were followed by a whole lot of the detested [Lotophage Warrior]. Braum shouted something that could be taken as a warcry as he stormed towards them.  
"Talon!" Quinn shouted before pulling the Noxian with her out of the path of the strongest man in Runeterra. Fiora was sprinting after him, not even stopping as her blade sprung to both her sides, making victims of both sides of her pathway. Talon and Quinn both followed Braum as well, using their daggers to hold off all who came too close.

They had almost reached the doors, and a worrisome sight came to them. In front of the door was a small group of around twenty enemies. They, in contrary to all the enemies they had fought thus far, were fully armored. Behind the group enemies, who were named [Lotophage Guardian], was the door that would lead to their rescue. Their levels however, were all above theirs. The [Lotophage Warrior] was around level eight or nine. These were all ranked between twenty and twenty-five. The fighting in the past hour had resulted in a few level-ups, but they were not on their level. With their limited amount of supply, their fatigue and their level disadvantage taken into account, Talon realised that they were probably screwed. Well, he thought, at least I lived by the blade, now comes the time to die by it. He did not say this to his companions though, nor did he show his worries. "Let them enjoy the taste of steel!" He shouted instead, rushing forward to face their new enemies together with the Demacian Fencer, leaving it Braum and Quinn to defend their backs.

It was not working, Talon cursed mentally. They just weren't able to get through the group of armed opponents, no matter how hard they tried. The four of them just weren't strong enough. If only they had Kha'zix with him. Inwardly, Talon smiled. This would of course be the perfect moment for the bug to appear. He had thought the movie-cliché lines of text, they were in mortal danger, they had no other options left, all of this formed the perfect opening for a Kha'zix ex-machina, only the bug did not magically appear on the stage. The assassin sighed, it was still funny to think ab-

Suddenly a sinister "Fear the void!" sounded through the room. And Talon could not help but burst into a giggle, causing the fencer to look at him strangely, not having noticed the sound of the Predator.

There was battle all around him, and the Voidreaver loved it. Slashing around with his claws he torn apart all the weak enemies as he went on.  
"WEAK!" he shouted, irritated, as he scanned the room in search of a better opponent. To his surprise, the first thing he spotted was the big shield that belonged to the heavily muscled man in their group. The one that was treating him in this weird, unknown way. They were fighting a group of heavily armored enemies. His eyes lighted up. Armor meant strength, and strength meant that they might be a worthy addition to him.  
Sending energy through his body, the Voidreaver turned invisible. Only his claws shimmered into vision when they cleaved yet another enemy apart, leaving only a trace of bubbles behind. Glancing at his HUD, Kha'zix realised why all the peasants were so easily killed. Their level was not even a fourth of his. The warriors that were fighting the other champions that had travelled through the dimensions with him were just below half his level. He had roamed the three available floors for a while now, and the solo-kill on the final boss of floor 11 had given him a lot of levels. He extended his wings -a property of the final boss of Skotadi as well- and with a mighty leap jumped behind the group of [Lotophage Guardians], shocking the french fencer who jumped a step backwards, almost bumping into Braum and Quinn, who were now also looking at the bug.  
"Do not fear death… The best part of you will live on." Kha'zix hissed, a grin decorating his face as he jumped forward and let his claws tear through the armor and weaponry of his opponents. Within moments, the group was torn to pieces and the door to the exit was free.

"Go ahead. I will enjoy myself with these weaklings a little longer. We will talk later." The bug said while munching on one of the armored guardians. The four humans ran out of the building and, while still remaining on guard, finally found some time to catch their breaths when they were finally outside. After fighting for almost an hour, it took them a while to start asking questions among themselves. For example; why was Kha'zix so strong? Why did he appear when he did? Where has he been? What level was Kha'zix now? Since they knew they would not get answers before the bug would get out of the building, they were now observing the progress in levels that they made. And the items that they had acquired during the fight. Talon was quite pleased with his progress, both level- and item wise. His level was now nineteen, and he could still collect the reward from killing the Basilisk. Braum`s level, the assassin noticed, had made quite a jump. Probably because he had pulled the aggro of almost all the enemies that they had faced. His level was now the same as Talon`s. And while he started scrolling through his skills and loot, Kha'zix came out of the building.

"I demand anzwers, Bug! Where hav' you been?"

Kha'zix sighed, and took a crouching stance, relaxing his claws at his side. "Easy, woman. I will answer your questions. But first, you must all follow me. I need to show you something."

* * *

_Talon - Level 19 - Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward. - 3593 col.  
Quinn - Level 18 - Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 3577 col.  
__Braum - Level 19 - Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 5687 col.  
__Kha'zix - Level 43 - Lotus Manor, Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward. A Place to Stay, Go to Lotus Manor. - 17846 col.  
__Fiora - Level 18 - Lotophage - Floor 11 - The Basilisk Defeated, Collect reward.- 3548 col._

* * *

**A/N: Well, that only took like... 6 months, and 6 days... I'm sorry for the wait, but I have been busy with both other stories and life. Since the last update of this story I graduated, moved to another city, started a life as a college student, watched anime, produced a few other stories, read some great books, stopped watching anime, went out a lot and watched anime again, and so on... Now, this is a chapter that I have been workng on since Mar 7 (upload date of Ch4). The problem is that I did not like what I had written, and had to redo it. I'm not sure if I like it now, but I wanted to show you some Kirito and Asuna. I hope it was not too bad... **

**While waiting for chapter 6 (nobody knows how long that will take) you can read my other League-crossover. Because, Caitlyn in the Holy Britannian Empire is also too much fun. Lelouch, Gino, Nunnally, and many more will have their future changed when Caitlyn joins the war, on one side or the other... (League/Code Geass, if you didn't get it still.) **

**Furthermore, Wish of an Angel is climbing to the respective top of the fandom (No Game No Life), I would really appreciate it if you check that out as well, and tell me what you think of it.**

**I guess that was all, I have picked up writing again folks!**

**-Alsodef**

_(13-9-2015)_


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